Vince Cable teams up with the University of Nottingham and FutureLearn to make economics accessible to everyone

Cable’s course on The Politics of Economics and the Economics of Politicians will be open for enrolment today

FutureLearn, the leading global social learning platform, owned by The Open University, has today announced its collaboration with their partner institution, The University of Nottingham, to launch a course on the ‘The Politics of Economics and The Economics of Politicians’. The course will be led by Honorary Professor of Economics and former Coalition Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable.

The course, spearheaded by Vince Cable, is designed to explore the link between politics and economics by looking at the work of some major political figures and the key economic ideas they adopted. Learners are not expected to have any prior experience or qualifications, just a keen interest in discovering the link between politics and economics. The course will also be taken by undergraduate students at the University of Nottingham. Learners will be able to:

●      Apply the theory of economics to politics

●      Investigate the impact of the 2008 financial crisis

●      Demonstrate understanding of the scope and methods of economics

●      Assess the effect of monetarism and rolling back the state

Vince Cable, lead educator and pioneer of the course said: “I have spent around half my adult life as an economist in universities, government and business and the rest in politics. As such, I have been fascinated by the links between the two: how politicians use economic ideas and how economists influence policy.  Most of the big economic ideas we see being applied in the real world are there because politicians adopted, promoted and implemented them; otherwise they would remain in books.”

Vince continued: “This project looks at some of the key political figures who came to represent major economic movements: Thatcher and Thatcherism; Deng and Chinese reform; Ehrhard and the German ‘wirtschaftswunder’; and comparable figures in earlier generations. By delving into these movements, I hope to inspire people to learn more about economics and politics, appreciate the relationship between the two fields, and use this knowledge to help understand the economic and political situation of today, and tomorrow.”

Professor Cecilia Testa, a course lead from the School of Economics at The University of Nottingham, said: “We are delighted to be leading this course with Sir Vince. Through the course, we hope to offer a broad range of people the opportunity to take a closer look at the links between politics and economics. The course is unique as we will be doing this through the eyes of leading economists at the University as well as through the eyes of a politician. We will be looking at both contemporary politics as well as the political leaders who have impacted on economic theories throughout history.”

FutureLearn Head of Content Nigel Smith commented: “It is a pleasure to be working with both The University of Nottingham and Vince Cable to deliver a course of this nature.  The course provides a unique blend of theoretical insight and practical experience, with the opportunity for learners to ask questions and comment throughout the course and grow their understanding of this key area of government.”

The course will be available for enrollment as of today, while the course itself will be available from 20th March 2017. Certificates of Achievement and Statements of Participation will be available at the cost of £59 and £34 respectively.