Why are there differences in performance across organisations? What role do management practices play in the success of organisations and countries? What drives management, and how can organisations improve? How can government and society make things better?

John Van Reenen argues that productivity differences don’t just lie in the technologies organisations use, but also in differences in the management practices used. In turn, this accounts for an important part of the differences in the wealth of nations.

Following the lecture, you’ll have the chance to ask questions. The lectures are open to everyone, and free.

The Speaker

John Van Reenen is the Gordon Y Billard Professor in Management and Economics and is jointly appointed as Professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management and in the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

From October 2003 to July 2016 John Van Reenen was Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and the Director of the Centre for Economic Performance. In 2016 he received the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for services to Economics and Public Policy Making, and in 2009 was awarded the Yrjö Jahnsson Award.

Van Reenen has published widely on the economics of innovation, labour markets and productivity. He has been a senior policy advisor to the Secretary of State for Health, Downing Street, and for many international organizations. He has also been a Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford and at Harvard University, a Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a Professor at University College London, a partner in Lexecon Ltd. (now CRAI), and Chief Technology Officer of a software start-up.

Van Reenen holds a BA in economics and social and political sciences from Queens College, University of Cambridge, an MSc in industrial relations from the London School of Economics, and a PhD from University College London in economics.