Room For Discussion

To kickoff the new academic year Room for Discussion interviewed Marjan van Loon, President-Director Shell Netherlands, on the 12th of September. During this one-hour interview, we discuss the role that Shell is playing within the Netherlands. Shell has been one of the biggest Dutch employers for years, but also plays a vital role in the energy transition. Therefore, we discuss the role of Shell in these fields and how the company deals with its corporate responsibility in the country.

Tien Jaar na de Financiële Crisis met Kees van Dijkhuizen (CEO ABN AMRO) en Arnoud Boot (hoogleraar Ondernemingsfinanciering en Financiële Markten) Op 15 september 2008 viel de Amerikaanse bank Lehman Brothers. Deze ondergang was het startschot van een verwoestende financiële crisis.In de mondiale kettingreactie die deze val veroorzaakte werd geen bank gespaard van de schokgolven die door de kapitaalmarkten gingen. Enige tijd na deze val nationaliseerde de Nederlandse overheid ABN AMRO, om te voorkomen dat deze systeembank zou sneuvelen. Voor 16,8 miljard euro wordt zowel ABN Amro Bank Nederland als Fortis Bank Nederland ingelijfd. Sindsdien is er hevige discussie ontstaan in hoeverre de financiële sector maatschappelijke verantwoordelijkheid draagt. Banken zijn gewoonlijk private instituties die net als andere bedrijven het doel hebben winst te maximaliseren. Aan de andere kant vormt de financiële sector het hart van de economie en dat brengt dat een morele plicht met zich mee.De financiële sector werd door

Room for Discussion is vereerd om aan te kondigen dat tijdens de Universiteitsdag Geert ten Dam, voorzitter van het College van Bestuur van de Universiteit van Amsterdam, bij ons te gast zal zijn! Tijdens het interview zullen wij de Universiteit van Amsterdam als onderzoeksinstituut en educatiecentrum analyseren. Hierbij zullen wij bespreken hoe de organisatie zichzelf gaat positioneren binnen onze globaliserende en digitaliserende wereld, welke afwegingen gemaakt moeten worden binnen een gelimiteerd budget en welke rol Geert ten Dam als voorzitter aanneemt. Welke visie heeft het college van bestuur op de toekomst van de Universiteit van Amsterdam? Hoe gaan zij om met de gelimiteerde financiële middelen? Wat zijn de oplossingen voor de overvolle college zalen en hoge werkdruk?

The retail sector has been changing a lot over the past few years. With innovations such as online shopping and delivery becoming more and more popular, retailers are facing challenges on a daily basis. Solutions are for example the self-scanners at the Albert Heijn, or the service points of Bol.com: all to save you time and make shopping a more time-efficient activity.Albert Heijn, Bol.com, Etos and Gall & Gall are the local companies of Ahold Delhaize in the Netherlands, but Ahold Delhaize is one of the largest retail groups worldwide. With local companies in Europe, the United States and Indonesia, Ahold Delhaize is serving more than 50 million shoppers a week. Supermarkets and e-commerce are the main focuses of the company that was founded after the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group in July 2016.Dick Boer became the President and CEO of Ahold in March 2011, and remained in this position after the merger. Boer has been praised for his knowledge of retail, but also for his involvement with both the cus

Tien Jaar na de Financiële Crisis met Kees van Dijkhuizen (CEO ABN AMRO) en Arnoud Boot (hoogleraar Ondernemingsfinanciering en Financiële Markten) Op 15 september 2008 viel de Amerikaanse bank Lehman Brothers. Deze ondergang was het startschot van een verwoestende financiële crisis.In de mondiale kettingreactie die deze val veroorzaakte werd geen bank gespaard van de schokgolven die door de kapitaalmarkten gingen. Enige tijd na deze val nationaliseerde de Nederlandse overheid ABN AMRO, om te voorkomen dat deze systeembank zou sneuvelen. Voor 16,8 miljard euro wordt zowel ABN Amro Bank Nederland als Fortis Bank Nederland ingelijfd. Sindsdien is er hevige discussie ontstaan in hoeverre de financiële sector maatschappelijke verantwoordelijkheid draagt. Banken zijn gewoonlijk private instituties die net als andere bedrijven het doel hebben winst te maximaliseren. Aan de andere kant vormt de financiële sector het hart van de economie en dat brengt dat een morele plicht met zich mee.De financiële sector werd door

In Edward Glaeser’s ‘Triumph of the City’, published in 2011, he describes how our biggest invention can make us richer, smarter, greener, healthier, and happier. This is mostly caused by economies of scale, and a smaller commuting time for most of us. Next to that, cities are a valuable way to look for innovation, as great minds are more likely to diffuse their knowledge and skills if they are within reach of each other.But how can these advantages be created, and can the inequality in big cities be reduced? Are cities even the best way of creating a better and greener society, or does the smog and pollution in Asian metropolises prove otherwise?We discuss these questions with Harvard professor Edward Glaeser.Interviewers: Kari Spijker & Pierre LieversMusic: Ruse by www.musicscreen.org

Our economy seems to become increasingly dependent on creativity. During the industrial era, human resources were generally used to perform repetitive tasks, however the introduction of computers and robots have put stress on these kinds of jobs. Many argue that our current educational system was made to support an industrialising economy and academic institutions, not a service and creativity-based economy.Should the current educational system be updated to support our creative and fast-paced economy, by putting more emphasis on arts and creativity in schools? These insights open a conversation about educations obsession with science and its rejection of the arts and to what extent our education system is aligned with the economy of the future.Psychologists have tried to define human motivation for decades and they often distinguish different sources of motivation that influence human behaviour. The current educational system is highly contingent on external motivation, which in some cases might be devastati

Since the financial crisis in 2008, the prevences of investors radically changed. Lots of investors moved from riskier actively managed funds (aimed at outperforming the market) to passively managed funds (which follow the market).This financial change has expanded the assets under management of already big institutional assets managers, turning them into giants!Recent studies have shown that these managers are the largest shareholders of 88% of the S&P500 firms. The three biggest investment funds, BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, have assests under management similar to the GDP of the entire United States!These institutional managers, the evidence shows us, would benefit from overall industry wide success and not individual firm success. Therefore, the question is raised: are passive investors exerting influence on firms they own to compete less?If this is true, what will be the responses of the government? How would breaking up the big three be? And what is the impact of these enormous influencial

During this interview we will discuss how much of our personal data can actually be extracted from the internet. What is it used for? And how does the GDPR impact that? But another interesting question is how we feel about the use of data by companies. Research has shown that over 90% over e-commerce customers don’t trust companies to keep their data secure, yet they still use those websites. Why is there such a discrepancy between our distrust and our behavior?With us will be Annika Sponselee, partner at Deloitte Risk Advisory and global and north western Europe leader in GDPR knowledge. She will give her perspective on why privacy management is important within companies and what the GDPR will bring.Els de Busser is specialised in the legal side of privacy. She will bring her knowledge on what privacy means in current law, why it is or is not important to safeguard and why privacy is the easiest value to be trumped by others.Interviewers: Lisa Schallenberg & Joshua NooijMusic: Ruse by www.musicscreen.or

Since the bankruptcy of Lehman brothers ten years ago, we have experienced a financial meltdown, the start of Room for Discussion, a sovereign debt crisis and the introduction of unorthodox monetary policy. To fight against the consequences of the crisis, the European Central Bank followed the major central banks of the world and implemented quantitative easing (QE). Now that the economy is blooming, banks are better capitalized and the exit of QE is in sight. How does Governor Knot look back ten years after the crisis? And are we in safe waters, capable of preventing a future crises?Moreover, as the situation—at least on paper—normalises, policymakers in Europe lead by the French government and the new German coalition, are looking into furthering European integration. As the official monetary regulator and price stabiliser of the EU, the ECB must play an important role. How will the ECB manoeuvre these rough political waters? Can the success of greater monetary union--through the banking union--be followed

At Room for Discussion we engaged in a discussion about voting behaviour, populism and the future of the left. Why do people vote in the first place? And which factors determine whether someone votes to further their own self interest or in line with their idea of an ideal society? Our guest was Didier Eribon, a renowned French author and philosopher and Professor of Sociology at the University of Amiens. His latest work, Returning to Reims (which became a bestseller in Germany and has just been translated into Dutch) assesses how class, sexual identities and one’s social environment influence people's voting behaviour. The book is a sociological study of the the working classes analysing their voting patterns (from voting for Communist Parties to the Nationalist Parties, e.g. the Front National).Interviewers: Benji Kusters & Valentina GianeraMusic: Ruse by www.musicscreen.org

Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that launched just a few weeks after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, is currently worth an estimated $41 billion. Digital coins like Bitcoin have become a global phenomenon. There are currently just under 1400 different coins in circulation, trading on 190 digital exchanges. How do these coins differentiate themselves, what aspects give them a viable future and do they have the potential to replace currency as we know it? Cryptocurrencies carry a very ideological philosophy with them. Blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies, could facilitate a world that enables us to trust strangers without a third party necessary to verify transactions. This has the potential to change our lives and threaten the position of established ‘trust-based’ institutions. What would this blockchain ruled world, without intermediaries, look like?Our guests for this session are Masahiro Yasu (Founder and CEO of Alis—the first Japanese social media platform using blockchain) and Alfred Pre

On the 4th of March the Italian general elections take place. As the Italian economy has not yet fully recovered from a severe recession and people are unsatisfied with the solutions proposed to tackle the migration crisis, there is a lot at stake. But how come that the third-largest economy in Europe is not growing the way it should? What is it that the Italians are discontent with?We will discuss this and more with Massimo Giuliodori (Professor of empirical macroeconomics at the University of Amsterdam) and Lorenzo Marsili (Author, political activist and member of Diem25)Interviewers: Sara Joelle Baars & Paolo DestiloMusic: Ruse by www.musicscreen.org

The goal of the EIB is to finance projects that bring about European integration and social cohesion. How do projects get chosen and where in the European economy lay underutilized opportunities to reach this goal? Werner Hoyer believes for instance there is an overall investment gap in the European Union, stating that our infrastructure spending is at a 20-year low. And even though the Eurozone is on a solid recovery to high growth, it still faces great challenges to overcome future crises. The economic divergence between the North and South, and high private debt levels are examples that there is still a lot to be done. How does the EIB fit into this picture, and should it increase its mandate in order to face contemporary economic challenges? Interviewers: Miguel Krol & Santiago Diaz JaramilloMusic: Ruse by www.musicscreen.org

In this interview, Rutger Bregman (Dutch journalist and advocate for a universal basic income) debates Hilmar Schneider (Director of the institute of Labour Economics in Bonn) on the necessity and the feasibility of a Universal Basic Income. Interviewers: Miguel Krol and Olaf VrijmoetMusic: Ruse by www.musicscreen.org

Today's guest is one of the most prominent voices in the current globalization debate: political Economist at Harvard University and author of the bestseller 'The Globalization Paradox', Dani Rodrik.In this interview we discuss the myths that lay behind the case for economic global integration, but also the opportunities of wealth creation that it enables. Should we embark on a path to deepen globalisation, or should we praise sovereign states flourishing side by side like in the Bretton Woods era?Interviewers: Jochem Jordaan and Miguel KrolMusic: Ruse by www.musicscreen.org

Cowspiracy has been seen by many people around the globe. It addresses the enormous impact of the animal agriculture on our environment, and why so many environmental organizations seem to ignore this. The movie calls for urgent action and proposes a vegan diet as a solution for our environmental and even poverty issues.Through the eyes of Kip Andersen, we will explore both the flaws of the livestock industry and the solutions for it. We will talk about Cowspiracy and Kip’s upcoming movie. While doing so we provide deeper insights into both movies and explore the solutions for the future. There will be plenty of space for questions from the audience, but we have limited seating capacity! Be early if you would like to sit instead of stand.Interviewers: Floris Rijssenbeek and Igno NotermansMusic: Ruse by www.musicscreen.org

Op 14 december 2016 was Thierry Baudet te gast bij Room for Discussion. Hij sprak over zijn visie op de Nederlandse politiek en over zijn net opgerichte partij Forum voor Democratie.Interviewers: Jeppe van Aubel en Lauren HeeremansMusic: Ruse by www.musicscreen.org