We are delighted to let you know that two new scholarships for the MA Money, Governments and Central Banks (by Research) programme have just been confirmed!

Congdon  Scholarship

Two scholarships of £4,000 are available to students applying to start in September and are designed for students who demonstrate a clear commitment to research in fields that relate to monetary policy.

Criteria and eligibility

To be eligible for this scholarship, candidates need to be looking to conduct research linked to the following topics, amongst others:

• The relationship between money and inflation
• Central Bank policies in times of crises
• The banking system and how it affects macro economic outcomes.

Candidates will also need to have completed a successful interview with the programme director.

Applications for the programme and the scholarships are open now!

Please follow the links below:
Programme: MA Money, Governments and Central Banks (by Research)
Scholarship: Congdon Scholarship

Money doesn’t just exist – it’s created, shaped, and controlled in ways that might surprise you.

Join us online on 16 April for an engaging talk led by Professor Juan Castañeda, where you’ll gain a clear and accessible understanding of how money is created in the modern economy. This session will unpack the roles of commercial banks, central banks, and monetary policy, helping you make sense of the forces shaping inflation, financial stability, and economic decision-making today.

This webinar also offers insight into our new Economics programmes: MA Money, Governments and Central Banks (by Research) and Money, Inflation and Monetarism (Short Course). Discover how our courses equip students with the analytical and critical skills needed to navigate complex financial systems and tackle real-world policy challenges with confidence.

Book your free place: How Money is Created in a Modern Economy

Date: 16 April 2026
Time: 9:00-09:45 BST
Venue: Online

The University of Buckingham has launched The Mainline Economics AI Project, a new initiative aimed at broadening and rebalancing economic discourse. Developed by the Vinson Centre, the School of Computing, and the Institute of Economic Affairs, with support from Summerleaze Ltd, the project uses a fine-tuned Large Language Model (LLM) trained on classical-liberal and heterodox economic literature. Its goal is to provide high-quality, well-sourced answers for academics, journalists, policymakers, and the public—free from the narrow assumptions of mainstream economic models. The AI will draw on insights from traditions such as Austrian, Public Choice, and New Institutional Economics, building a diverse repository of knowledge. Emphasising intellectual pluralism and ideological transparency, the project supports research, teaching, and policy analysis. Leaders involved describe it as a groundbreaking blend of AI innovation and educational mission, designed to restore neglected insights and foster a richer understanding of fundamental economic ideas.

MA Money, Governments and Central Banks (by Research)

This research-based online MA programme gives students the knowledge and skills to think critically about practical problems faced by banks, central banks and other financial institutions – essential for anyone hoping to pursue a career in this sector. Co-ordinated by Dr Gabriel Stein and Professor Juan Castaneda, it is particularly relevant given the changes in banking, monetary policy and financial markets since the Global Financial Crisis and Covid-19.

Click here for more information

Money, Inflation and Monetarism (Short course)

The Money, Inflation and Monetarism course is designed for undergraduate students and professionals who wish to explore theories of inflation and macroeconomic stability from a monetarist perspective. You will be introduced to monetary theory, while exploring the roles of banking in a modern economy. Using video material featuring leading monetary economist Professor Tim Congdon, this course offers a unique focus.

Click here for more information

Thursday 1 May 2025 st 9:45 AM – 2:00 PM

9:45 AM – 10:00 AM: Refreshments and welcome of schools

10:00 AM – 10:10 AM: Opening by Professor Debarpita Bardhan-Correia (Dean of Faculty of Business, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Buckingham)

10:10 AM – 11:10 AM: ‘Money and Inflation’ by Dr Juan Castaneda (Director of the Vinson Centre, University of Buckingham)

11:10 AM – 12:10 PM: ‘Business and Entrepreneurship’ by Mr Graham Jones (Senior Lecturer in Business and Management, University of Buckingham)

12:10 PM – 12:40 PM: Lunch Break

12:40 PM – 1:40 PM: ‘The Housing Crisis’ by Dr Kristian Niemietz (Editorial Director, Institute of Economic Affairs)

1:40 PM – 2:00 PM: Presentation by Marketing

Venue: The workshop will be held at Universidad de las Hespérides, Calle los Balcones, 10, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.

Date: December 11-12, 2025

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‘Advancing a Classical Liberal Understanding of the Agenda for a Free Society’

This workshop will offer invited scholars a unique opportunity to engage in meaningful and constructive discussions of working papers to help prepare them for submission to Economic Affairs or other journals. Our aim is to contribute to improving the quality of every paper accepted to the workshop. While we are making an open call for proposals, the Economic Affairs Applied Research Workshop will be a select event open only to invited paper presenters and scholars. An academic committee will review submissions and select up to twenty paper presenters, whose work will comprise the core workshop agenda.

Location: The workshop will be being held at Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Madrid: Calle de Arturo Soria, 245, 28033 Madrid, Spain.

Date: December 13-14, 2024.

Deadline for submission of proposals (abstract): 31 July 2024.

Web page with more information: https://economicaffairsworkshop.ufm.edu/

For further information, contact Juan Castaneda at juan.castaneda@buckingham.ac.uk

About Economic Affairs

Economic Affairs is a peer reviewed journal published by the Vinson Centre at the University of Buckingham and the Institute of Economic Affairs, in collaboration with Universidad de las Hespérides and Universidad Francisco Marroquín, through academic publisher Wiley. It is edited by Professor Len Shackleton.

The journal is indexed by Scopus and is part of the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). It has published a wide range of authors from around the world, including a number of Nobel Prize laureates, while focusing on non-mathematical approaches to economic analysis.

For more than forty years, the journal has published original work and commentaries by hundreds of authors broadly sharing our approach to classical liberal political economy. Nowadays, in contrast with some of our other output, it has a particularly strong international focus. Three-quarters of our readership is based overseas, as is a large proportion of our authors. This was not the case when Economic Affairs was first launched by Arthur Seldon and the IEA back in 1980.

The journal is published three times per year, in February, May, and October. Here you can access the latest issues.

The journal publishes main articles (around 7,000 words in length), as well as short articles, of no more than 3,500 words, reporting on larger studies which may be published in full elsewhere. The journal also has a book review section.

Are you a University of Buckingham student ready to delve into the world of research and academic excellence? Look no further! The Vinson Centre (University of Buckingham), in collaboration with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), present a 9-week Research-Based Internship tailored just for you. With only four students per intake, this internship requires a weekly commitment of 8 hours, divided into 4-hour sessions across 2 days.

Applicants are encouraged to submit a CV and Cover Letter explaining why they are the best candidate and how they would benefit from this internship. Your research topics may include, but are not limited to: money and inflation, central banks, monetary competition, government finances (spending and taxation), free trade and development, regulation, alternatives to state education. The programme will run in Buckingham’s term time: Autumn term (September – November), Winter term (January – March) and Spring term (April – May). You can find more information on term dates at Term Dates | University of Buckingham.

Duration: 9 weeks, 2 days per week

Location: Vinson Centre (University of Buckingham). Buckingham (Hunter Street campus, MK18 1EG).

Interns will receive a compensation for their time.

Important Dates:

Application Deadline: 15.03.2024

Internship Duration: 03.04.2024 to 31.05.2024

Email for applications: vinsoninternship@iea.org.uk. Please contact Megi Cara in case of any queries on the programme (mcara@iea.org.uk).