FORUM SPECIAL GUESTS

Hernando de Soto
Born in 1941, Latin American economist. Nominee for the Nobel Prize for economics in 2002. He set up the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD) in 1983, which is considered one of the most important think tanks in the world by The Economist. "Time" included de Soto among the 100 most important and influential people in the world in 2004 He is the author of two best-selling books "The Other Path" and "The Mystery of Capital". De Soto represents new institutionalism, the school of economic thought according to which the way the society is organised is of paramount importance for its economic development.


Profesor David S. Landes
World famous historian and economist. A retired professor at Harvard University (USA), best known as the author of "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations", in which he carries out a research on the reasons for economic successes and failures of nations. Professor Landes, however, is primarily interested in those countries which became leaders in the race for commanding the world rather than those, for which martyrdom is their consolation prize. Following Adam Smith and Max Weber, he stresses that it is mentality, formed by religious tradition, which decides whether a nation is capable of overcoming difficulties, or is confined within a vicious circle of offence, failed insurrections, dictatorship, and poverty. Professor Landes delivered a lecture "West and East: Why and how has Europe caught up and overtaken other civilizations and created and created the world of today".


Profesor Pedro Videla
One of the most eminent European macroeconomists. Lecturer at renowned IESE Business School. He mainly deals with the issues connected with combating poverty and human capital management, international trade of developing countries, structural transformation process, as well as the impact of tax burden on the economic development. He acts as an expert and advisor to the World Bank, European Commission (EEC), the governments of the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Columbia, and many others. Pedro Videla underlines that poor countries may become more prosperous. However, politicians from rich countries deceive themselves when they believe that this effect can be obtained merely by spectacular top-down transfer of funds. It is poor nations that have to take strenuous work on their economic development. Professor Videla delivered a lecture titled "What do we know?" in which he challenged the thesis that the history of the world is the history of poverty. He also presented emerging economies and the impact of globalistaion with its positive and negative sides.


Jan Krzysztof Bielecki
Born in 1951. He is a Polish liberal politician. Served as Prime Minister of Poland in 1991. From 1993 to 2003 Bielecki represented Poland at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. He is President and CEO of Bank Pekao S.A.