Peter Sinclair Town Hall Lecture by Mary S. Morgan (London School of Economics)
Economists and economic historians are used to having ‘the government’ as a category to think with, but the notion of ‘the state’ has been much less evident. Sometimes it has been seen as the central actor designing and driving the way the economy works – such as when an economy becomes socialist or returns to a capitalist recipe. At other times the state has been pulled into economic action by world events – such as into a war economy, or returning into a peace-time economy. And still other times it has been pushed by sustained action from other groups in society – such as in the formation of a welfare state or in introducing laws on economic equality. This lecture looks into the history of economics, and uses stories from economic history, to understand how ‘the state’ comes to plays such a variety of roles in our economic life.
When: Wednesday 11 November 2026, 16:00-17:00, followed by a drinks reception.
Where: Alan Walters Main Lecture Theatre, University of Birmingham, and on Zoom.
To secure your place, please register using this form. Further information will be sent to your email address closer to the time of the event.
About the speaker
Professor Mary S. Morgan is the Emerita Albert O. Hirschman Professor of History and Philosophy of Economics in the Department of Economic History at the London School of Economics. She was elected as both a Fellow of the British Academy (BA) and an Overseas Fellow of the KNAW (The Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Science) in 2002, and was the BA’s Vice President for Publications 2014-18. She served as President of the Royal Economic Society (RES) 2023-4, and was awarded an OBE in the U.K.’s New Year Honours list of 2025 for her services “to the Economics Profession and to Social Science”. Professor Morgan’s academic contributions are focussed on the history, philosophy and sociology of science, primarily on economics. Her major research grants show her breadth of interests: a BA Research Readership (on models in economics); a Leverhulme/ESRC programme grant (on the nature of evidence); a BA Wolfson Research Professorship (on case studies in the social sciences); and most recently a European Research Council Advanced Investigator Grant (on the use of narrative across the sciences).
About the lecture series
The Peter Sinclair Town Hall lecture series features world class economists presenting their research and its real world implications to an audience of academic economists, economics students, and the wider community. The lectures are diverse in topic but united in that they bring the lens of economics to real world issues, demonstrating how economics can be both useful and a force for good in understanding and shaping the world. The lecture series is inspired by and commemorates Emeritus Professor Peter Sinclair, whose breadth of knowledge, curiosity, and kindness inspired his students and colleagues immeasurably.