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Michael Spence

Michael Spence

Writing for PS since 2008
172 commentaries

Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics, is Professor of Economics Emeritus and a former dean of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Senior Adviser to General Atlantic, and Chairman of the firm’s Global Growth Institute. He is Chair of the Advisory Board of the Asia Global Institute and serves on the Academic Committee at Luohan Academy. He is a former chair of the Commission on Growth and Development and a co-author (with Mohamed A. El-Erian, Gordon Brown, and Reid Lidow) of Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World (Simon & Schuster, 2023).

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  1. The Indian Giant Has Arrived
    op_elerian1_ Debarchan ChatterjeeNurPhoto via Getty Images_indiapopulation Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The Indian Giant Has Arrived

    Mar 22, 2024 Mohamed A. El-Erian & Michael Spence consider the risks and challenges associated with the country's rapidly expanding global footprint.

  2. Making Sense of Society
    spence170_Biplov BhuyanHindustan Times via Getty Images_wsupreme court india Biplov Bhuyan/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

    Making Sense of Society

    Feb 29, 2024 Michael Spence considers why a healthy civil society is crucial to good governance and inclusive prosperity.

  3. The Next Phase of Our Inflation Journey
    spence169_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_powell Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    The Next Phase of Our Inflation Journey

    Feb 2, 2024 Michael Spence sees flaws in projections that the US Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates beyond 2024.

  4. COP28 Can Deliver Progress on Climate Change, but Will It?
    spence168_JEWEL SAMADAFP via Getty Images_cop28 JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images

    COP28 Can Deliver Progress on Climate Change, but Will It?

    Dec 5, 2023 Michael Spence highlights areas where the UN summit in Dubai can bring important progress.

  5. Michael Spence on industrial policy, AI, growth models, and more
    Spence_Say-More_Blue-Planet-Studio-via-GettyRF

    Michael Spence on industrial policy, AI, growth models, and more

    Oct 24, 2023 Michael Spence describes the global economy’s new supply conditions, urges governments to tap the potential of artificial intelligence to boost productivity, explains why the relationship between monetary and fiscal policy must change, and more.

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  1. balasegaram2_JOHN WESSELSAFP via Getty Images_africaflood John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

    Climate Change Is a Worse Health Threat Than We Think

    Manica Balasegaram warns that the world is underestimating the extent to which global warming will fuel antimicrobial resistance.
  2. delong259_ChesnotGetty Images_musk Omar Marques/Getty Images

    Musk Has Made Tesla a Meme Stock

    J. Bradford DeLong worries that the first mover in electric vehicles is increasingly running on bucket-shop hype.
  3. buchholz15_Al Drago-PoolGetty Images_yellen Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images

    The US Treasury’s Bond Blunder Will Cost Gen Z Dearly

    Todd G. Buchholz & James Carter thinks the US should have locked in favorable borrowing rates when it had the chance.
  4. james217_ Christopher FurlongGetty Images_gold Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

    What’s Driving the Global Gold Rush?

    Harold James considers the political factors pushing the price of the “barbarous relic” to all-time highs.
  5. stiglitz333_ Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_bidentrump Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Global Elections in the Shadow of Neoliberalism

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    While scandals, culture wars, and threats to democracy dominate the headlines, the biggest issues in this super election year ultimately concern economic policies. After all, the rise of anti-democratic populist authoritarianism is itself the legacy of a misbegotten economic ideology.

    considers what 40 years of anti-government, low-tax, deregulatory advocacy have wrought around the world.
  6. terzi6_green transition degrowth Getty Images

    Averting Climate Catastrophe Requires Economic Growth

    Alessio Terzi & Gernot Wagner show why shrinking the global economy, as envisaged by advocates of degrowth, is a bad way to cut emissions.
  7. varoufakis114_KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEVAFP via Getty Images_germany protests KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images

    Banned By Germany

    Yanis Varoufakis

    Germany recently prohibited a Palestinian Congress from taking place in Berlin, arrested its Jewish supporters, and barred one of its organizers, Greece’s former finance minister, from entering the country. But the turn to repression is powerful evidence that the country’s pro-Israel political consensus is breaking down.

    sees in his case an effort to enforce with repression a pro-Israel political consensus that is breaking down.
  8. sheng147_ Annabelle ChihGetty Images_taiwansemiconductors Annabelle Chih/Getty Images

    China Should Emulate Taiwan’s Tech Policies

    Andrew Sheng & Xiao Geng urge the Chinese government to follow the island's lead by embracing the financialization of innovation.
  9. leonard100_CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSONPOOLAFP via Getty Images_macron CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

    The Macron Moment

    Mark Leonard thinks the French president has the capability to provide the strategic leadership that Europe needs.

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