Mr Reuben Finighan 

PhD

Political economy

London School of Economics

United Kingdom

Political Science, Business and Economics

Reuben is interested in how social order, and broadly-based prosperity, can be sustained in a world of rapid technological, economic, and political change—and how we can explain the malaise of capitalist democracies in the twenty-first century. His approach forges a cross-disciplinary synthesis across economics, psychology, and sociobiology. Reuben holds a Masters of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, which he attended as a Fulbright Scholar and Frank Knox Fellow. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science from The University of Melbourne, with double First Class Honours. Reuben was part of Harvard Professor Robert Putnam's research team for the book 'Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis' and is co-authoring a book on the history and future of capitalism and democracy with Professor Ross Garnaut AC. He has co-authored papers with Putnam, Garnaut, and Lord Nicolas Stern. As Chief Economist of the Universal Commons, he worked with Alan Schwartz AM to examine the role of business in addressing macro problems such as climate change. Reuben is now the Research Lead, Economic Pathways at The Superpower Institute with his purpose to help Australia seize the extraordinary opportunities of the post-carbon world. Reuben commenced a PhD in Economics in 2017 at the London School of Economics. As a recipient of the additional Leverhulme Trust scholarship, Reuben was affiliated with LSE's new International Inequalities Institute which provides strategic leadership and co-ordination on the inter-disciplinary analysis of inequalities. His PhD thesis aimed to change economists' fundamental assumptions about the causes of stability and prosperity in liberal societies.