Dear EAEPE Members,

Welcome to the first issue of the EAEPE Newsletter.

With this new initiative, we aim to strengthen communication within the Association, share important updates, and showcase the work and ideas of our members. The newsletter will offer regular information on EAEPE activities, events, and publications, while also serving as a platform to share members’ stories and highlight relevant topics in our field.

On the occasion of this introductory note, I would like to emphasize the importance of interdisciplinarity and pluralism in addressing the complex challenges facing our societies today. Evolutionary and political economy approaches offer powerful tools for analyzing these challenges and for deepening our understanding of complex socio-economic phenomena.

This is also an opportunity to underline the need for all of us to contribute with our academic research and dialogue to the long-term goals of improving lives across the globe, fostering shared prosperity, and protecting the planet.

 

In this spirit, EAEPE is organizing its annual conference this year around the theme of emerging opportunities and threats in the AI-driven era. The 2025 conference, titled “The Janus Face of AI: Opportunities and Threats”, will provide a space to critically explore AI not only as a technological development but as a broader socio-economic and political transformation. We aim to shed light on fundamental questions regarding how the rise of AI intersects with inequality, institutional structures, and power dynamics.

We are pleased to announce two keynote speeches at the conference and feature short interviews with them in this issue of the newsletter:

• Susan Ariel Aaronson, Research Professor of International Affairs at George – Washington University, will speak on “The Mixed Political Economy of AI”
• Phoebe Moore, Professor at Essex Business School, will present on “A manifesto for digital & AI rights from the left”

In addition, there will be a roundtable discussion titled “Challenges and Opportunities for AI Laggards: Bridging the AI Divide,” aimed at generating practical insights and policy recommendations for countries striving to catch up in the global AI race while promoting equitable and sustainable development.

On a more somber note, the organization of this year’s conference coincides with the passing of Richard Nelson, a pioneering figure in evolutionary economics and Honorary President of EAEPE. To honor his legacy, we have dedicated a special session to his work and contributions. Franco Malerba, Professor Emeritus at Bocconi University and a close collaborator of Nelson, will deliver the opening lecture, offering an academic and personal reflection titled “Richard’s Nelson legacy”

 

Beyond this years conference, the newsletter includes some more content:

First, we introduce the two new members of the Council, Jessica Palka and Anita Pelle who were co-opted this year to support the EAEPE activities. Both have already taken on a number of responsibilities, and we thank them for their active engagement.

We also feature an interview with José Luis Oreiro, coordinator of the EAEPE Research Area on Developmental Macroeconomics: Perspectives from the Global South. The interview reflects on the special tribute session Oreiro organised at the 2024 EAEPE Annual Conference in honour of Luis Carlos Bresser-Pereira, a leading figure in Brazilian heterodox economics. The conversation touches on Bresser-Pereira’s intellectual and policy contributions—from the theory of inertial inflation to the foundations of New Developmentalism—and explores how these ideas resonate with current challenges in both the Global South and high-income economies.

Finally, we also would like to share the most recent Call for Papers of EAEPE’s Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, please have a look at the final pages of the newsletter to see if you would like to contribute:

• Pluralism in Economics and Postcolonial Political Economy
• Complexity in Innovation, Management and Economics — The challenges of sustainability transition and digital transformation
• Value and Valuation Research: Advancing Understanding, Conceptualization, Practice, and Policy through Interdisciplinary Lenses
• Driving Socio-Economic Change through AI and Digitalization: Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Risks

We hope this newsletter will become a valuable space for exchange, inspiration, and community within EAEPE.

 

Warm regards,

Ioanna Kastelli

President of EAEPE

 

If you would like to read the newsletter as pdf, please click on the following LINK