This commemorative lecture pays tribute to the life, legacy, and contributions of Ralph Harris (1924–2006), a pioneering figure in economics, one of the original architects of modern free-market thought in Britain, and the IEA’s first General Director, serving the Institute from 1957 – 1988.

Alongside Arthur Seldon, the IEA’s first Editorial Director, Ralph Harris battled against a conventional wisdom which was hostile to markets. Eventually, by force of argument, they overcame much of the resistance to market ideas, and in the process established the IEA’s formidable influence in shaping both opinion and policy.

Our keynote speaker, Tyler Goodspeed (American Economist and Former Acting Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers), will be speaking on “How to unlock UK growth once again – lessons from the past and pathways for the future”.

As Acting Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Tyler spearheaded the U.S. economic policy response to the worst macroeconomic shock to hit the U.S. economy since the Great Depression. He advised the President and oversaw the shortest recession and fastest economic recovery in U.S. history. In his academic career, he has held faculty appointments at the University of Oxford and Stanford University, and is currently a Kleinheinz Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Receiving a a PhD in economics from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in history from Harvard University, Tyler has published extensively on economic and financial history, particularly the role of access to credit in mitigating adverse environmental change

Joining him will be Tom Clougherty, Executive Director and Ralph Harris Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs; Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs and Christian Bjørnskov, Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics at Aarhus University and affiliated researcher at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics.