To celebrate the 550th anniversary of the birth of renowned Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, along with the Polish Academy of Science Institute of History of Science, came together to organise the World Copernican Congress 2023.
From 24 to 26 May, the event was held in Kraków, Poland. The broad programme featured lectures and panel discussions focusing on topics across the disciplines of Economics and Philosophy, and exploring their intersections. University of Luxembourg Professor in Macroeconomics and applied Microeconomics, Andreas Irmen, was among the many eminent professors invited to participate in the congress.
Prof. Irmen joined Prof. David de la Croix (Université Catholique de Louvain), Prof. Claude Diebolt (Université de Strasbourg) and panel chair Prof. Andrzej Wojtyna (Kraków University of Economics) to discuss the question “The (Copernican) Revolution in Economics?”. Using the example of Copernicus’ astronomically and philosophically revolutionary discovery that the earth did not revolve around the sun and was therefore not the centre of the universe, the panelists debated whether a similar “Copernican Turn” could be observed in Economics.
Prof. David de la Croix (left) and Prof. Andreas Irmen (right) after the panel session.
The panel discussion, along with the full congress, can be viewed on youtube.
The congress was also covered in a segment by Polish TV channel, TVP World. In a related interview, Prof. Irmen spoke to the media about his research into the role of technological change as driving force of economic growth (time stamp 11:41 in the video).