Eduardo Punset

Eduardo Punset Casals (born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1936) is a Spanish lawyer, economist, and scientific popularizer. He holds a degree in Law from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and a Master's in Economic Sciences from the University of London. He has been an economic writer for the BBC, economics director of the Latin American edition of the newsweekly "The Economist", and an economist for the International Monetary Fund in the United States and Haiti. As a specialist on the impact of emerging technologies, Punset has been a consultant to COTEC, Advising Professor of International Marketing at ESADE, president of the Instituto Tecnológico Bull, Professor of Innovation and Technology at the Instituto de Empresa (Madrid), President of Enher, Deputy General Director of Economic and Financial Studies at the Banco Hispanoamericano, and Coordinator of the Strategic Plan for the Information Society in Catalonia.

He played a prominent role, as the UCD's Minister of Relations with the European Communities, when Spain opened its economy to the rest of the world. As financial advisor to the Government of Catalonia he took part in the implementation of the State of the Autonomies, and, as president of the European Parliament's delegation to Poland, he supervised part of the process of economic transformation undertaken in Eastern countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall. After Spain was incorporated into the European Union, Punset was elected to the European Parliament in representation of the CDS in 1987 and 1989.

Punset is the author of several books on economic analysis and social thought. At present he is Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at the Facultad de Economía of the [linked page in Spanish] (Ramon Llull University), director and presenter of [linked page in Spanish] , a popular-science show aired on the TVE, president of the audiovisual production company [http://www.smartplanet.es/ smartplanet] [linked page in Spanish] and Board member of Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts.

As of november 2007 he has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Awards

* "Honor Plaque 2001" from the Asociación Española de Científicos

elected Works

* "El viaje a la felicidad: Las nuevas claves científicas" ("The Journey to Happiness: New Scientific Clues", 2005; English translation to be published in the United States in 2007 as "The Happiness Trip: A Scientific Journey")
* "Cara a cara con la vida, la mente y el universo" ("Face to Face with Life, Mind, and the Universe", 2004; English translation to be published in the United States in 2007 as "Mind, Life and Universe: Conversations with Great Scientists of Our Time")
* "Adaptarse a la marea. La selección natural en los negocios" ("Adapting to the Tide: Natural Selection in Business", 2004)
* "Manual para sobrevivir en el siglo XXI" ("A 20th Century Survival Manual", 2000)
* "Information Resources and Corporate Growth" (coauthor,1989)
* "La España impertinente" ("Impertinent Spain", 1986)
* "España: sociedad cerrada, sociedad abierta" ("Spain: Closed Society, Open Society", 1982)
* "La salida de la crisis" ("The Way Out of the Crisis", 1980)

External links

* [http://www.smartplanet.es/eduardpunset/ Eduardo Punset's official website] [in Spanish]
* [http://www.eduardpunset.es/blog/ Eduardo Punset's blog] [in Spanish]
* [http://digital.el-esceptico.org/leer.php?id=1295&autor=497&tema=104 Skeptical commentary on Redes] [in Spanish]

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