Rafael del Pino Foundation, Free Market Road Show and the Instituto Juan de Mariana
The Rafael del Pino Foundation, Free Market Road Show and the Juan de Mariana Institute organised, on 9 March 2016, the event entitled Free Market Road Show Madrid 2016.
The event was structured according to the following programme:
16.40 Inequality as an excuse for fiscal voracity Barbara Kolm, Director of the Austrian Economics Center Juan Ramón Rallo, Director of the Juan de Mariana Institute, that Henrique Schneider, Chief Economist of the Swiss Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Diego Sánchez de la Cruz, Director of Think Tank Civismo Federico Fernández, Senior Fellow at the Austrian Economics Center Carlos Cuesta, Editor-in-Chief of El Mundo (moderator)
17.50 Innovation and the market facing the challenges of the future José Luis Cordeiro, Founding Professor at Singularity University, NASA, Director of the Millenium Project Esperanza Ibáñez, Manager of Policy and Public Affairs at Google for Spain and Portugal Gonzalo Carnero, Co-founder and CEFO of Parkfy Yuri Fernandez, Uber's Head of Communications for Spain and Portugal Francisco Capella, Astrophysics Engineer specialising in artificial intelligence and knowledge engineering (moderator)
19.25 The fragility of freedom: the degradation of law, populism and institutions Enrique Ghersi, Lawyer and Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Lima Carlos Rodríguez Braun, Professor of History of Economic Thought at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain María de los Ángeles Murillo, Lawyer at Murillo Studio, specialised in Law and Institutions. María Blanco, Professor of History of Economic Thought at the University CEU San Pablo
Summary:
On 9 March, the Free Market Road Show 2016 took place at the Rafael del Pino Foundation, this time focusing on the themes of inequality, technology and populism. The first round table focused on inequality as a pretext for fiscal voracity, with the participation of Barbara Kolm, director of the Austrian Economics Center; Juan Ramón Rallo, director of the Juan de Mariana Institute; H Henrique Schneider, chief economist of the Swiss Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises; Diego Sánchez de la Cruz, director of the think tank Civismo and Federico Fernández, senior fellow at the Austrian Economics Center. For the participants, inequality is the pretext for the state to raise taxes and reduce citizens' freedoms. Inequality of opportunity is one thing, but economic inequality is another. There is nothing wrong with the latter. More taxes, moreover, do not mean lower levels of inequality. Switzerland is the most equal country in Europe and the one with the lowest taxes. In Argentina, in turn, taxes have been raised and raised with the excuse that the problem is with those who have the least and they have not managed to lift people out of poverty. On the other hand, there is a tendency to confuse development with inequality when they are two different things. North Korea is very egalitarian and not very developed. The most important variable in economic development is freedom. The second round table was dedicated to innovation and the market in the face of the challenges of the future, with the participation of José Luis Cordeiro, Founding Professor at Singularity University; Esperanza Ibáñez, Manager of Policy and Public Affairs at Google for Spain and Portugal; Gonzalo Carnero, co-founder and CEFO of Parkfy, and Yuri Fernández, Head of Communications at Uber for Spain and Portugal. It was pointed out that we are going to see science fiction become reality, because in the next 20 years we are going to see more changes than in the last 2000 years, such as robots, artificial intelligence, drones, driverless cars, telepathic communication, cures for ageing and the rejuvenation of people. These changes will have a very positive impact on people's lives. The future may also probably bring fewer jobs for everyone, with businesses disappearing, but the collaborative economy that emerges thanks to internet platforms can help to address the problem. From the regulatory point of view, the problem lies in the lack of adequate legislation for the technological change that is taking place, in the existence of many regulatory obstacles, in the fear of legal uncertainty arising from regulation and in the risk of attempting to over-regulate this whole world, which would be detrimental to innovation. The third round table was dedicated to the theme of The fragility of freedom: the degradation of law, populism and institutions. It was attended by Enrique Ghersi, lawyer and professor of Economics and Law at the University of Lima; Carlos Rodríguez Braun, professor of History of Economic Thought at the Complutense University of Madrid; and María de los Ángeles Murillo, lawyer at Murillo Studio and specialist in Law and Institutions. The participants stressed that the law never works when it goes from top to bottom because people may not accept it. On the other hand, what works is the one that goes from the bottom up, the one that is based on reality. This means that if half of the country feels delegitimised because it perceives that the state is turning its back on it, then it shows its rejection. This is the danger of populism because, protected by the legitimacy that democracy gives it, it can go too far when it wants to shape the institutions as it pleases.
The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for the comments, opinions or statements made by the people who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their sole responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference, written for the Rafael del Pino Foundation by Professor Emilio González, are the result of the debates held at the meeting held for this purpose at the Foundation and are the responsibility of the authors.
The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for any comments, opinions or statements made by third parties. In this respect, the FRP is not obliged to monitor the views expressed by such third parties who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their own responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference, written for the Rafael del Pino Foundation by Professor Emilio J. González, are the result of the discussions that took place during the conference organised for this purpose at the Foundation and are the sole responsibility of its authors.
