Misum Forum 2022: Highlights and recordings
Opening remarks
HRH Prince Daniel of Sweden opened the event with a short address focused on current global challenges and their impact on poverty rates worldwide, as well as the work of the education NGO Pratham in providing education opportunities to children in Northern India. Watch his speech here.
Industry sessions
Fireside conversation
The broad question posed at the Forum, “what is the role and responsibility of business and industry in poverty alleviation?”, was discussed by two reputable business leaders in Sweden:
- Carl Bennet, principal owner of Getinge, Arjo, Lifco and Elanders
- Marcus Wallenberg, Chair of SEB
The conversation was moderated by:
- Martina Björkman Nyqvist, Misum Executive Director and Associate Professor in Economics, Stockholm School of Economics (SSE)
- Ingrid Eelde Koivisto, Secretary General at Pratham Sweden
Industry panel
We welcomed on stage five sustainability leaders from Swedish companies that have a global reach and extensive value chains. Together they addressed a wide range of topics on the role of global enterprises in poverty reduction, including local income generation, access to education, social projects, human rights, corruption. The panel members included:
- Eva Axelsson, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Group Sustainability, Saab
- Andreas Gyllenhammar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Sweco
- Heather Johnson, Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson
- Johanna Raynal, Director of ESG and Impact, Swedfund
- Sofia Svingby, Vice President Sustainability, Atlas Copco
The panel was moderated by Viveka Hirdman-Ryrberg, Head of Corporate Communication & Sustainability and member of the Executive Team at Investor AB and Chair of the Misum Board.
Academic sessions
Prof. Adnan Khan
Chief Economist and Director for Economics and Evaluation Directorate in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Professor in the School of Public Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
"Pro-poor policies and economic preferences"
Professor Khan highlights the extreme importance that job creation has in the fight against poverty, as the rapid expansion of productive jobs gradually stabilizes fragile environments. Therefore, it is up to governments to create policies that support private investment for job creation and up to businesses to respect and follow responsible business practices, he explains. Within this context, he stresses the relevance of understanding how economic preferences of rich and poor people are impacted by pro-poor economic policies. Session moderated by Martina Björkman Nyqvist, Misum Executive Director and Associate Professor in Economics, SSE.
Prof. Oriana Bandiera
Sir Anthony Atkinson Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
"The Jobs of the Poor"
Professor Bandiera reflects on three main issues concerning poverty: the number of people living below the poverty line, the jobs of the poor and possible poverty reduction strategies. She highlights that 85% of the world’s population still lives below the U.S. poverty line, even though in recent years the share of people living below the World Bank International Poverty Line ($1.90 dollars per day) decreased from 40% to 10%. Discussing the economics of poverty, she stresses that a key difference between rich and poor countries today lies in the fact that the poor in poor countries are more likely to be in subsistence self-employment rather than in wage employment. Session moderated by Abhijeet Singh, Misum affiliated researchers and Associate Professor, Dept. of Economics, SSE.
Prof. Abhijit Banerjee
Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-recipient of the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel
“The science of fighting poverty: learnings from the Jameel Poverty Action Lab”
Professor Banerjee presents learnings from the Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which was created in 2003 with the aim of reducing poverty through scientific-based policy. He discusses how randomized evaluations conducted within the J-PAL network have helped overcome challenges and achieve key insights regarding microcredits and cash transfers, two types of programs that have been widely used in the fight against poverty. He also explains that there is more we need to learn about what works in this fight. The problem is two-fold, he says: on one hand we often rely on intuitions, which may be faulty as often based on ideology. On the other hand, general principles, even if correct, are sometimes too general. Session moderated by Martina Björkman Nyqvist, Misum Executive Director and Associate Professor in Economics, SSE.
Prof. Minna Halme
Professor of Sustainability Management at Aalto University School of Business
“Co-creating frugal and reverse innovations for poverty alleviation”
Professor Halme reflects on the global sustainability challenges our societies are facing and on how we can use these challenges as a source of frugal innovations for poverty alleviation. She defines frugal innovations as resource-scarce easy-to-use products and services. In the context of high levels of welfare and wealth in the West and increasing ecological degradation and social inequality, frugal innovations could help to serve the unserved with new value proposals at much lower prices. Session moderated by Sarah Jack, Misum Sustainable Business Development through Entrepreneurship and Innovation Platform Director and Professor, Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology, SSE.
Prof. Frank Schilbach
Gary Loveman Career Development Associate Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
"Do financial concerns make workers less productive?"
Professor Schilbach presents the results of a field experiment conducted in India to estimate the impact of financial strains on worker productivity. “Financial strain entails mental costs: worry, stress, anxiety, sadness” he explains when discussing the nascent literature on cognitive consequences of poverty, which led the research team to look at the economic effects of these mental costs. By changing the timing of workers’ wage payments, they estimate the effects on workers’ attentiveness and productivity. Results suggest that cash infusion increases productivity, with stronger among the poorest workers. Session moderated by Marieke Bos, Misum affiliated researchers and Deputy Director, Swedish House of Finance.