SEARCH: economic policy

Science and Innovation: The Under-Fueled Engine of Prosperity

Benjamin Jones (Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University) argues that the United States is vastly underinvesting in science and innovation, hindering productivity growth. He presents evidence that increased public spending on research and development would lead to improvements in standards of living and health, enhance our economic competitiveness, and advance our nation’s capacity to ...

Challenges of a Clean Energy Transition and Implications for Energy Infrastructure Policy

Economists Severin Borenstein (Berkeley Haas School of Business) and Ryan Kellogg (University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy) discuss the major barriers that need to be overcome in order to successfully execute a transition to a reliable low-carbon energy system at reasonable cost. The authors observe that the country must rapidly reduce greenhouse gas ...

Aspen Economic Strategy Group Releases New Policy Analyses Examining the US Infrastructure Agenda

Three papers examine how infrastructure investments can promote economic growth and broader prosperity. Washington, DC, July 14, 2021 – The Aspen Economic Strategy Group (AESG) today released a set of three papers on infrastructure and technological innovation and their impact on the post-pandemic economic recovery.  These papers will be included in the group’s annual policy volume, ...

AESG Member Statement: A Call for US Leadership on Global Vaccination Efforts

The United States government should take up a position of world leadership on ending the global COVID-19 pandemic through vaccine outreach to the world. Such an effort would serve a clear humanitarian purpose. It would represent forward defense of our security interests by slowing the virus’s rate of mutation. No other action would so clearly ...

Rebuilding the Post-Pandemic Economy

After suffering the worst economic shock since the Great Depression last year, the American economy is recovering in fits and starts. While many businesses are reopening their doors and thriving, continued uncertainty about the course of the virus, the inflation outlook, labor shortages, and many other factors are hampering a full return to normal activity. The COVID-19 pandemic also reinforced and exacerbated many of the biggest structural economic challenges in our society. It precipitated the largest economic relief and stimulus spending in US history and transformed the way that millions of Americans live and work, with automation, e-commerce, and telework all playing a bigger role. The pandemic and its aftershocks reignited not only the perennial debates about the appropriate role and size of government, but also present new and urgent questions about how the post-pandemic economy will take shape. The policy volume Rebuilding the Post Pandemic Economy examine important questions about how the post-pandemic economy will take shape. What are some initial lessons we can take away from the novel government programs that were deployed to provide economic relief and stimulus? How can we implement new infrastructure investments to maximize efficiency and equity, and best respond to the climate crisis? After a year of widespread school closures, what have we learned about the role of K-12 education in perpetuating or reducing social and economic inequities? And how should American trade policies evolve to promote economic recovery and strengthen America’s role in the global economy?

America and International Trade Cooperation

The United States’ approach to trade policy and international engagement is in a period of transition. An AESG report titled “America and International Trade Cooperation,” written by economist Chad P. Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, provides a framework for evaluating the current US approach and makes specific policy recommendations. Bown puts forward ...

Addressing Inequities in the US K-12 Education System

Despite decades of federal and state policy reforms and major philanthropic investments, there are still glaring deficiencies and inequities across the US K-12 education system. In “Addressing Inequities in the US K-12 Education System,” economists Nora Gordon of Georgetown University and Sarah Reber of University of California, Los Angeles argue that reducing inequities in American ...

Business Continuity Insurance in the Next Disaster

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an economic shock unparalleled in severity and breadth across the US economy since at least the Great Depression. The spring of 2020 saw unprecedented business closures and revenue declines. The government response was swift and unprecedented in scale. The federal government deployed two novel programs to support small businesses: Paycheck Protection ...