Who We Are

The Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics (CTNTE) is a Charity established to advance education in the field of economics for the benefit of the public.
We think that the following principles are fundamental in developing the kind of economics that can make a difference for public policy:

That economic behaviour is primarily social rather than individual.

That economic behaviour is influenced by aesthetic and ethical values as well as economic values.

That the pursuit of self-interest in economic behaviour can impact adversely on both society and the environment.

“Economics as if people and the planet matter”

We Aim To

Connect those working at the coalface of public policy with economics that responds to policy needs and public concerns

Encourage cross-disciplinary discussion of policy issues and make useful economics accessible to those who come from other fields

Stimulate new thinking in economics within and outside of academia

Our Objectives

It is vital that two social problems be solved. The first is the obvious degradation of the planet and its atmosphere by over-consumption and over-production through the exploitation of resources in pursuit of monetary gain. The second problem is the toxic pollution of the global money supply, also obvious, caused by financial practices over the past twenty years, led by the investment banks of Wall Street and the City of London.

The problems are related:

  • Both arise out of the pursuit of self interest, sanctified by the crude economic utilitarianism that underlies equilibrium economics;
  • Both are non-linear catastrophic events, although on different time scales; and,
  • Both can arguably be described, in different ways, as the greatest market failures in human history.

The CTNTE has been founded to promote new thinking in economics that does not rely on equilibrium and instead recognises the inherent uncertainties in the understanding of behaviour and accepts that nearly all economic activity is social in nature, not individual; that human beings are social animals; and that successful economies are based on trust and integrity.

OUR TRUSTEES

Meet our Founder and team of Trustees

Prof Terry Barker

Founder

Dr Annela Anger-Kraavi

Chief Executive

Richard Lewney

Trustee

Dr Carolina Alves

Trustee

Prof Philip Arestis

Trustee

Dr Nick Barker

Trustee

MEET OUR TRUSTEES