A didactic and solidary economy

Gay de Liébana offers a conference on the economic challenges for 2019 whose benefits are allocated to the Association against Rhabdomyosarcoma

José Maria Gay de Liébana, professor of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Barcelona and full academician of the Royal European Academy of Doctors-Barcelona 1914 (RAED), gave on 28 January in Barcelona the solidarity conference “Retos económicos para 2019” (Economic challenges for 2019). The funds raised will go towards the projects that the Spanish Association against Rabdomiosarcoma performs in collaboration with the Saint John of God Hospital in Barcelona.

Gay de Liébana tackled the problem of the economic slowdown that is occurring sharply in advanced economies at a time when the volatility of the financial markets suggests an overheating in the world stock markets, with Wall Street leading the way. Also, the academician placed in the current focus the monetary tensions as a result of the decisions taken by the Federal Reserve and that hit the emerging economies with the rises in interest rates, such as the end of the monetary stimulus by the European Central Bank, coinciding with the slowdown in the euro zone economy and the loss of acceleration in China, in addition to the threat of the cut in oil production set in motion by the OPEC countries.

In his presentation, Gay de Liébana also reflected on the possible consequences that Brexit may have not only for the British economy, but for the entire European Union, particularly in the impacts that would bring to Spain, taking into account the importance of tourism British, the presence of more than 250,000 British residents and the relevant role that the United Kingdom plays as a business partner.

The sceptical side of the economy is marked, according to the academician, by the doubts about the global well-being, the entrance in zone of risk of the world-wide commerce and the economic growth that should be avoided through the international cooperation and the threats derived from the climatic change and the problems of the environment, with loss of biodiversity, cyber-attacks, the deterioration of the quality of life of citizens and the dangers of biological pathogens.

Gay de Liébana also spoke about the inequalities of income, wealth and opportunities, citizen frustrations, which are reflected in the non-inclusive growth and the risks involved in the current status quo acceleration of technological changes and summarized in the destruction of jobs in medium and low labour segments, giving rise to labour polarization in a future marked by the irruption of artificial intelligence and robotics.