Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On Wednesday, 13 April, Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) and the Economic Fundamentals Initiative (EFI) Fund hosted a Gala Opening Ceremony for the promotion of the “Common Sense Economics” book. 

The ceremony was attended by Professor Randall K. Filer, co-author of the book and EFI President. Under his management, EFI is engaged in adapting, translating and distributing the book Common Sense Economics (CSE) in multiple regional languages as a free download at https://www.econfun.org/. Randall K. Filer is Professor of Economics at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Professor Filer served as President of the CERGE-EI Foundation, the largest supporter of economics education in the post-communist transition economies from 1999 until 2021. Professor Filer has twice been a Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic as well as a visiting scholar at the Economics Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.  His commentaries have been featured in outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, BBC, ABC and Good Morning Saudi Arabia.

Uzbekistan joined the EFI Fund in 2021 and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with WIUT, as the lead academic partner for the promotion of the “Common Sense Economics” book in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is the leading country in Central Asia to embrace this global economic literacy initiative led by the EFI Fund. The Gala Opening Ceremony is expected to pave the road for further promotion of the book as well as other EFI Fund projects in Uzbekistan, thus providing valuable contributions in existing initiatives towards building “New Uzbekistan”. 

The “Common Sense Economics - What Everyone Should Know About Wealth and Prosperity” book was first published in 2005 and is now in its third edition. Originally written by academic economists James D. Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, Dwight R. Lee, Tawni H. Ferrarini and Joseph P. Calhoun, “Common Sense Economics” is today the classic introduction to the fundamentals of market economics. Available electronically, the book includes supplementary reading material and over 9 hours of subtitled video clips which present and explain the fundamental concepts of economics in real-life contexts. With the support of the EFI Academic Advisory Committee, the book has been adapted to ensure its relevance to readers across Central Asia. The resulting edition of “Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know About Personal and National Prosperity” is available in English, Albanian, Armenian, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian and Uzbek. Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Kyrgyz will be available in early 2022. 

Westminster International University in Tashkent is the first International University in Uzbekistan and the first of its kind in Central Asia to offer International British Higher Education. It is fully recognised by the University of Westminster (UK). WIUT`s mission is to provide education and research opportunities of international standards that contribute to the intellectual, social and professional development of communities in Central Asia and internationally. In 2022, WIUT celebrates its 20-year anniversary.

The Economic Fundamentals Initiative Fund is a unique project harnessing the skills, talents and creativity of many people in many countries to inspire and excite interest in economics.  Everyone involved in the Economic Fundamentals Initiative has spent much of their career living and working across the Central Asian region. EFI founders believe that developing everyone’s understanding of economics can only be a good thing for individuals, for their communities and for broader national and regional stability. Operating in seven languages with three further translations available in 2022, EFI plans to include even more Eastern European and Central Asian languages in their portfolio. EFI is funded entirely by donations which are used solely for the adaptation, translation and distribution of economics literature across this region. EFI is a non-profit organisation registered in the state of New Jersey, U.S.A.