William Easterly's Talks

Professor Easterly, 2015 Hayek Lecturer and Professor of Economics and New York University, sat down with Professor Philip Booth and ieaTV to discuss the role - for better or worse - of institutions in developing countries and poverty relief efforts.

Professor William Easterly, Professor of Economics at New York Univeristy and Co-Director of the New York University Development Research Institute, was the speaker at the 2015 Annual Hayek Memorial Lecture.

He spoke on the topic of "The Tyranny of Experts: Foreign Aid versus Freedom for the World's Poor", and argued that more freedom provides better outcome for poorer countries than any number of technocratic solutions.

Speaker: Professor William Easterly Recorded on 8 December 2014 in Old Theatre, Old Building. The admirable fight against global poverty has a blind spot on democracy and human rights, which are both good in themselves and also the most well-proven and lasting path out of poverty.

William Easterly, professor of economics at New York University and co-director of the NYU Development Research Institute comes to the Watson Institute to discuss his new book "The Tyranny of Experts". Easterly discusses the growing problem of poverty in developing countries and the role dictatorship plays.

Why does poverty persist across so much of the world, despite billions of dollars in international aid and the efforts of development professionals? William Easterly's answer, as proposed in his new book, The Tyranny of Experts: Economists, Dictators, and the Forgotten Rights of the Poor, is a lack of respect for liberty-not just on the part of governments of impoverished countries but also, more provocatively, on the part of the development experts.

Over the last century, global poverty has largely been viewed as a technical problem that merely requires the right "expert" solutions. Yet all too often, experts recommend solutions that fix immediate problems without addressing the systemic political factors which created them in the first place.

NYU professor William Easterly visits Google's Mountain View, CA, headquarters to discuss his book, "The White Man's Burden." This event took on April 6, 2006, as part of the Authors@Google series.

Which countries will be the economic success stories of 2013? William Easterly, professor of economics at New York University, and Dambisa Moyo, author of "Winner Take All", consider the fate of the emerging economies in the near future in a discussion moderated by The Economist's Zanny Minton Beddoes at The Economist's World in 2013 Festival on December 8th 2012.

The motion: "Aid to Africa is doing more harm than good" Moderator: Brian Lehrer Speaking for the motion: George Ayittey, William Easterly and David Rieff Speaking against the motion: C. Payne Lucas, John McArthur and Gayle Smith IQ2US marks the launch of Oxford-style debating -- one motion, one moderator, three advocates for the motion, three against -- in New York City.

Over the last century, global poverty has largely been viewed as a technical problem that merely requires the right "expert" solutions. Yet all too often, experts recommend solutions that fix immediate problems without addressing the systemic political factors that created them in the first place.