Economics after the fall

The architect of Poland's "shock therapy" post-communist economic transformation, Professor Leszek Balcerowicz, will give a public lecture at the UNSW this week (Thursday 28 August).

Currently a Professor of Economics at the Warsaw School of Economics, the former Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and President of the National Bank of Poland, has been at the centre of Poland's economic and political life since 1989.

He has authored more than 100 publications on economic issues and received Poland's highest decoration - the Order of the White Eagle - for his contribution to systemic transformation.

Professor Balcerowicz will be conferred with an Honorary Degree before addressing the topic 'Institutional Change After Communism'.

The lecture will also mark the launch of the UNSW Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Law.

The Centre seeks to explore law and law-related life, by drawing on insights and researchers from a variety of scholarly disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.

The public lecture and the conferring of the Honorary Degree continue a tradition of connections between UNSW's Law School and key figures in the Polish transformation.

Co-Directors of the new Centre, Professor Martin Krygier and Associate Professor Adam Czarnota, have both published widely on post-communist regimes. They regard such transformations as both intriguing in themselves and remarkable tests of our ability to understand and affect the interactions of institutions and social practices.

"We are honoured to have a figure of such international standing as Professor Balcerowicz deliver this public lecture at UNSW," Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor David Dixon says.

"The conferring of the Doctor of Laws recognises his eminent service to the international community."

WHAT: Public Lecture - Institutional Change After Communism, delivered by Professor Leszek Balcerowicz WHEN: 28 August 2008, 6.15pm for a 6.30 start WHERE: The Law Theatre, Faculty of Law, UNSW Kensington Campus

Media contact: Steve Offner | 0424 580 208 | s.offner@unsw.edu.au