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UNU-WIDER congratulates the Helsinki Graduate School of Economics on its inauguration

The Helsinki Graduate School of Economics (GSE) was inaugurated on 24 October at an opening ceremony that took place at the University of Helsinki. The goal of the new school is to strengthen and broaden the field of economic research in Finland. As a United Nations institute based in Helsinki, specializing in research on development economics, UNU-WIDER warmly congratulates the Helsinki GSE on its opening and looks forward to fruitful collaboration in the future.

Speakers at the event highlighted the importance of economic research and noted that economics is gaining relevance in other fields of study. Benefits could be drawn from increasing collaboration with other disciplines, such as health, which in turn would create a demand for economists who can work with a variety of subject matters.

Also speaking at the event, Nobel Laureates Bengt Holmström (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Jean Tirole (Toulouse School of Economics) reflected on what it means to be an economist. Jean Tirole stressed that professional economists must reaffirm themselves as experts, saying that economists are more useful today than ever. Bengt Holmström emphasized that it is much harder to ask good questions than to answer them. The key is to remember that good economics is hard and never say it is simple.