Michael Spence
Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, chairs the Commission on Growth and Development.
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2010-07-16
| It now seems universally accepted that government should establish the structure and rules for the financial system, with participants then pursuing their self-interest within that framework. But in a complex system in which expertise, insight, and real-time information are widely dispersed – and trust is lacking – reliance on such a framework seems deficient and unwise. ... read |
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2010-06-07
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Whereas industrial countries are experiencing bouts of severe financial instability, emerging economies, once considered much more vulnerable, have been remarkably resilient, proving to be important engines of global growth. But emerging economies do not operate in a vacuum, and sustaining their strong performance requires the accommodation of industrial countries.... read |
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2010-05-18
| The current crisis in the eurozone vividly underscores the importance of fiscal discipline – a point that the common currency's creators understood well. Today, EU leaders and member states must recognize that achieving the combination of discipline and flexibility needed to protect the collective interest and sustain the eurozone implies a loss of full fiscal sovereignty.... read |
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2010-04-21
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Although economic recovery in advanced countries remains fragile 18 months after the global financial crisis erupted, developing countries appear to have weathered the storm. Reasons for this remarkable resilience abound, and they offer guidance for advanced and developing countries alike. ... read |
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2010-03-22
| At the height of the crisis, the combined effect of fiscal stimulus and massive monetary easing had a big impact in preventing a credit freeze and limiting the downward spiral in asset prices and real economic activity. But that period is over, because counter-cyclical policy cannot undo the damage that excessive leverage caused to balance sheets in the financial and household sectors.... read |
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2010-02-03
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It is a difficult moment to be optimistic about the future of the world economy. A policy agenda in the US that is overloaded, largely domestically focused, and partially paralyzed will mean a lack of attention to global issues that require cooperation and compromise, including the international dimensions of financial reform. ... read |
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2010-01-21
| After three decades of sustained growth and a remarkably successful policy response to the recent global crisis, Chinese self-confidence is soaring. But the lessons that China's government may draw from the crisis may not be the best guides for the long term.... read |
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2009-12-21
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Investors have been hit hard by the current crisis, and lessons are being learned and strategies revised. But the central lesson for investors is that they should not assume that all times are “normal” times, and that risks to the system as a whole are abnormal.... read |
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2009-11-20
| The world’s major challenge in combating climate change is to devise a strategy that encourages growth in the developing world, but on a path that approaches safe global carbon-emission levels by mid-century. The way to achieve this is to decouple the question of who pays for most mitigation efforts from the question of where, geographically, these efforts take place.... read |
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Testing the Limits of Fossil Fuels
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Michael Spence 
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MILAN – Most people recognize that human activity, primarily the use of fossil fuels, is contributing mightily to an increasing level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases, particularly CO2, increase the risk of damage to the world’s climate. This means that limits on our consumption of fossil fuels cannot be measured only by the availability of supplies, but must also take account of the environmental costs. ... read
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2009-12-21
| Investors have been hit hard by the current crisis, and lessons are being learned and strategies revised. But the central lesson for investors is that they should not assume that all times are “normal” times, and that risks to the system as a whole are abnormal.... read |
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2009-10-21
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Although the financial crisis is winding down, prospects for growth in the global economy are unlikely to pick up. While this is, in part, inevitable, it is also the result of poor coordination between governments as the global economy rebalances.... read |
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2008-10-16
| The current credit crisis has led to scaled-back projections for growth around the world. It has also exposed the severe mismatch between our vulnerability to global imbalances of the type that fueled the crisis and our ability to coordinate policies internationally to ensure that such imbalances are addressed before it is too late.... read |
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2009-10-21
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Although the financial crisis is winding down, prospects for growth in the global economy are unlikely to pick up. While this is, in part, inevitable, it is also the result of poor coordination between governments as the global economy rebalances.... read |
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2010-02-03
| It is a difficult moment to be optimistic about the future of the world economy. A policy agenda in the US that is overloaded, largely domestically focused, and partially paralyzed will mean a lack of attention to global issues that require cooperation and compromise, including the international dimensions of financial reform. ... read |
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2009-12-21
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Investors have been hit hard by the current crisis, and lessons are being learned and strategies revised. But the central lesson for investors is that they should not assume that all times are “normal” times, and that risks to the system as a whole are abnormal.... read |
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2009-06-16
| What can we expect as the world’s economy emerges from its most serious downturn in almost a century? The short answer is a “new normal,” with slower growth, a more stable core financial system, and additional challenges (energy, climate, and demographic imbalances, to name a few) that will test our collective capacity to manage and oversee the global economy.... read |
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2009-11-20
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The world’s major challenge in combating climate change is to devise a strategy that encourages growth in the developing world, but on a path that approaches safe global carbon-emission levels by mid-century. The way to achieve this is to decouple the question of who pays for most mitigation efforts from the question of where, geographically, these efforts take place.... read |
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2010-01-21
| After three decades of sustained growth and a remarkably successful policy response to the recent global crisis, Chinese self-confidence is soaring. But the lessons that China's government may draw from the crisis may not be the best guides for the long term.... read |
2010-07-16
