"What economy for tomorrow?"

"This SHS course is meant as a breathing space", says Jean-Pierre Danthine. The questions raised by the professor and honorary director of the Entreprise for Society (E4S) center in "Quelle économie pour demain? " are aimed at future engineers as well as citizens. Faced with the problems currently confronting the world, he proposes to examine the answers and potential solutions that economics can provide. "I invite students to think systemically, and to consider issues such as global warming, inequality and resource depletion in the context of our economic organization. By better understanding how the economic system functions or malfunctions, we are able to make a more accurate diagnosis and imagine better directions for solutions".

The course, given once a week during the autumn 2024 semester, requires advance preparation with the reading of a text or the viewing of a video on the day's theme. "We start directly with a discussion in reaction to the text or video and in response to questions posed ahead of the class. I then bring in elements of economic theory, and together we look at how they enable us to envisage responses to current problems." Global warming and planetary limits, inclusion and inequality, the circular economy, biodiversity are all topics of discussion. "It's also an opportunity to understand the role of the different players involved: what can the state, consumers or the business world do? I also show that we don't have all the answers, and that we depend on how the political system works: in a democracy, certain economic solutions, for example, are not always accepted by the population."

Students are assessed on their participation in class and on the course blog, as well as on their presentation of a small group project.