(photograph: Amanda Gosling (left), Miguel León-Ledesma (right)
Dr Amanda Gosling will step us as the next Head of Economics at Kent, taking over from Professor Miguel Léon-Ledesma who has a well-earnt period of study leave after his time holding the reins! Amanda will be closely supported by Drs Matloob Piracha and Mathan Satchi.
‘I am delighted for Amanda and, on behalf of the Divisional leadership team, very much look forward to working with her.’ Divisional lead Professor David Wilkinson accounced this week ‘with Dr Matloob Piracha and Dr Mathan Satchi as co-heads, to whom I am also thankful.’
‘It is the first time that such a team approach to running the school has been tried and we believe this innovative approach holds great promise for the future.’ Amanda told us ‘I want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the previous Head of School, Professor Miguel Leon-Ledesma, for his invaluable contributions and dedication in leading the department to where it stands today, building of course on the work of previous heads such as Alastair Bailey and Alan Carruth.’
‘I want to express how proud we all are to be part of the School of Economics, let alone to lead it. The three of us have been here for a considerable time—I joined in 2006 when most of our current students were just toddlers too young to talk, let alone to grasp the concepts of comparative and absolute advantage! Over the years, we have witnessed incredible growth and many milestones, including the recent graduation of the first cohort of degree apprentices.’
We are also excited about our new home at Sibson. We can’t wait to meet all of you and share our passion for economics.
‘We are also excited about our new home at Sibson. We can’t wait to meet all of you and share our passion for economics.’
‘To our incoming first-year students and those considering applying through clearing, we have an intriguing new module on economic history that I hope will inspire you! By exploring the overarching question of why and how history matters in the determination of economic outcomes, this module brings in the diverse economic histories of nations from across the developing and developed world. At the end of the module, you will have a deeper understanding of the factors that have contributed to the extreme inequalities we witness across the globe today.’
‘Economics is often criticised for assuming people are perfectly rational decision makers. Another new module, offered to second years, combines economic analysis with a perhaps more realistic set of assumptions (mostly from psychology) about how people make choices. This will enable you to come to an informed judgement about the power of these approaches to explain and predict human behaviour as well as the implications for policy on things like pensions and savings, healthy eating and so on.’
‘Our new modules complement our existing degree courses, which offer a unique blend of skill acquisition and real-world understanding, enabling you to grasp why outcomes vary across individuals, time, countries and regions.’
‘Amanda will formally take over from Miguel on 1st August.’ David Wilkinson confrimed ‘In the meantime, I again want to thank Miguel for his highly valued contribution as Head of School, and wish him well with his upcoming study leave.’