Kilkenny to host top economists and comedians for Kilkenomics

Now heading into its tenth edition, Kilkenomics, the world’s first and only festival of economics and comedy - is preparing once again to welcome to Kilkenny some of the world’s leading economists, financial analysts and media commentators and some of our funniest, sharpest stand-up comedians.
The festival has been dubbed Davos with jokes but it has been hailed by The Economist as being; "just what economics needs: an event bridging the gap between academic analysis and the ordinary people whose lives are turned upside down by economic mayhem."
This year's blockbuster lineup includes a debut appearance by Nobel Laureate and New York Times columnist, Paul Krugman, one of the world's best known economists.
There's also a first visit to the festival by Samantha Power, the former US Ambassador to the United Nations and advisor to Barak Obama.
Samantha famously explored her Castlecomer roots in the RTÉ TV series Who Do You Think You Are?
New additions also include Andy Haldane, Chief Economist of the Bank of England and Turkish writer Ece Temelkuran whose book How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship could not be more timely.
Yanis Varoufakis
Returning to the city he loves for the event is former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis who is as challenging as ever and a powerful voice against globalisation.
Advertising guru, Rory Sutherland will talk as will leading behavioural economist, Dan Ariely.
Author of the Great Economists, Linda Yueh will be a peneliistata number of events.
Joining our international visitor is a host of Irish commentators including Kilkenomics co-founder, David McWilliams; Stephen Kinsella, Catriona Cahill, Dearbhail McDonald and Colm McCarthy.
Then of course there are the comedians who this year include favourites like Des Bishop, Andrew Maxwell, Pauline McLynn, Gerry Stembridge, Colm O’Regan, Kevin Gildea and Karl Spain.
What started as a way to make sense of the 2008 economic crash has turned into the Kilkenomics festival as we know it today.
The aim of Kilkenomics has always been to take economics out of the conference room and academia and make it accessible to ordinary people’s lives.
Across Kilkenny city over the weekend of November 7 to 10, all these and more brilliant brains will be working to make sense of subjects like Brexit, Trump, climate change which will feature questions from Kilkenny students - property, populism, Russia, China and much more.
As long-time stalwart of the festival, Gerry Stembridge said: “Don’t be put off by the fact that it’s about economics, it’s actually about life.”
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