Life After Debt?

Life

after debt?

A residential conference at Ridley Hall, Cambridge April 8-10 2011 (Fri-Sun)

www.faith-in-business.org

Life after debt?

Information

In the wake of the 2007-9 global financial crisis, there has been a massive public awakening in the West to the reality of debt. It is now clear that individuals, companies, banks and governments have all been borrowing and spending beyond their means, and that high levels of corporate leverage and national deficit cannot be sustained indefinitely. Pay back time has arrived. But what do the Bible and Christian faith have to say on these issues?

Many national governments, including the UK coalition government, are committed to programmes of significantly reducing public debt. How far is it necessary, desirable and wise to take this policy? Are sizeable cuts in public spending the precursor to economic recovery, or do they imperil it? How can debt-reducing measures be fair as well as tough?

The case for moving away from a pattern of debt finance also applies to commerce.

Some argue that business should become less dependent on debt, reviving age-old debates about the morality of charging interest which are rooted in the Bible and Christian tradition. Should equity forms of financing be promoted because they embody the spirit of partnership and shared risk-taking, or are they equally problematic in other ways?

While it is hard to conceive of a life entirely without debt, it may be possible to shape a world in which debt plays a reduced or different role in our lives. What would make people want to change, in order to make such a world a reality? This conference at Ridley Hall provides an opportunity to explore these momentous questions. We will gather together business people, economists, politicians and theologians to tackle debt head-on.

For more information and secure online booking visit: www.faith-in-business.org/programme.html

Life after debt?

Programme

Friday 8 April 5.30 pm Registration 7.00pm Supper 8.00 pm Deep in Debt

Saturday 9 April 8.00 am Breakfast 8.30 am Morning Prayer 9.00 am Alternatives to Debt-based Finance Systems 10.00 am Discussion 10.45 am Morning coffee 11.15 am Drowning in Personal Debt 12.15 pm Discussion 1.00 pm Lunch 1.45 pm Free time and networking

4.00 pm Afternoon tea 4.30 pm Debt, Globalisation and Progress: The Case of India 5.30 pm Discussion 6.30 pm Supper 7.45 pm Debt and the World’s Poorest Countries

Sunday 10 April 8.30 am Breakfast 9.00 am A Theology of Debt 10.00 am Discussion 11.00 am Morning coffee 11.30 am Closing Eucharist with sermon 1.00 pm Lunch and depart

Life after debt?

Sessions and Speakers

Deep in Debt: How Did We Get There and What Do We Do Now?

David White

The process whereby national governments became immersed in such huge scales of public debt is disturbing and sobering. This opening talk will extend beyond the UK to offer a European and international perspective, comparing and evaluating different responses. Is there any alternative to redressing public deficits by making major spending cuts?

David White recently retired from a 35-year career in the European Commission, holding many senior posts including membership of President Jacques Delors’ cabinet and Director for Enterprise Policy. He is a Reader at Holy Trinity Brussels.

Alternatives to Debt-based Finance Systems

Paul Mills

Can and should business become less dependent on debt? Should we encourage a shift towards equity and other forms of financing, which put a greater focus on relationship, rent-share and partnership? If so, should the tax and regulatory system be reformed to facilitate this? And in the financial world, what would a non-debt system look like and is it feasible?

Paul Mills is Senior Economist with the IMF, Monetary and Capital Markets Department. His doctorate was on the biblical prohibition of interest and its contemporary relevance.

Drowning in Personal Debt: Banks and their Customers

Antony Elliott

It is possible to view lending at interest in a more positive light but still be critical of the way banking has developed and the huge levels of personal indebtedness that have resulted. The author of the ‘Not Waving But Drowning’ report which researched personal debt in depth makes some very practical suggestions about how banks might help people manage their finances better.

Antony Elliott is Director of The FairBanking Foundation. He was Group Risk Director of Abbey National for over 10 years and until recently was Head of Financial Risk for the Man Group.

Debt, Globalisation and Progress: The Case of India

Prabhu Guptara

Notwithstanding the recent global financial crisis, certain countries, notably Brazil, Russia, India and China, have continued to make rapid economic progress. It is instructive to consider the attitudes to debt found in these countries and to compare historical parallels with European countries, focusing on India.

Prabhu Guptara, until recently Executive Director, Organisation Development at UBS Wolfsberg, Switzerland, is Distinguished Professor of Global Business, Management and Public Policy, William Carey University, India.

Debt and the World’s Poorest Countries

Ann Pettifor

In 2000 the Jubilee Campaign called for cancellation of the debts of the world’s poorest and most highly indebted countries. It had a major impact on Western governments and financial institutions. How have countries which were released – partially or totally – from their debts fared in the ten years since? What further measures need to be taken to address debt in the developing world?

Ann Pettifor is Executive Director of Advocacy International, a fellow of the New Economics Foundation and author of The Coming First World Debt Crisis (2006). She led the Jubilee 2000 campaign.

A Theology of Debt

Michael Northcott

A pervasive theme throughout the conference is the Christian attitude to debt. Here it receives its sharpest focus. Should debt be avoided at all costs, paid back as quickly as possible, or cancelled when borrowers get into serious difficulties? What do the Christian virtues of love, solidarity, justice, mercy and forgiveness imply for the practice of borrowing and lending?

Michael Northcott is Professor of Ethics at the Divinity School, Edinburgh University. He is the author of A Moral Climate and Life after Debt?

Life after debt?

Registration

The cost of attending the conference residentially is £265, with a reduced “early bird” price of £240 for delegates who book by 1 March 2011. Non-residential rates are £195 and £170 respectively.

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q I shall attend. Please tick appropriate accommodation requirements: q Residential (£265 or “early bird” £240) q I should like to book an en-suite room at an extra cost of £40

(subject to availability)

q Non-residential (£195 or “early bird” £170) q I enclose a non-returnable £50 deposit, payable to ‘Ridley Hall – Faith in Business’.

Signed: ______________________________________ Date _______________________ Final date for receipt of applications: 24 March 2011

Please detach or photocopy form and return to: Janine Stewart, Faith in Business Administrator, Ridley Hall, Cambridge, CB3 9HG Tel: +44 (0)1223 741071 ~ Fax: +44 (0)1223 746581 Email: jmps2@cam.ac.uk

Registered Charity No 311456