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Michael Spence

Michael Spence

Writing for PS since 2008
161 commentaries

Website

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 serves on the Academic Committee at Luohan Academy, and chairs the Advisory Board of the Asia Global Institute. He was Chairman of the independent Commission on Growth and Development, an international body that from 2006-10 analyzed opportunities for global economic growth, and is the author of The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World (Macmillan Publishers, 2012).

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  1. Countering Structural Disruptions
    spence159_sesameGetty Images_businessdisruption sesame/Getty Images

    Countering Structural Disruptions

    Feb 22, 2023 Michael Spence assesses policymakers' options for mitigating the adverse distributional consequences of trade and technology.

  2. America’s Widening Productivity Gap
    spence158_Justin SullivanGetty Images_helpwantednowhiring Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    America’s Widening Productivity Gap

    Feb 6, 2023 Michael Spence & Belinda Azenui urge policymakers to pursue interventions aimed at reducing supply constraints in the non-tradable sector.

  3. Is It Time to Give Up on 1.5°C?
    spence157_plus49Construction PhotographyAvalonGetty Images_emissions plus49/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images

    Is It Time to Give Up on 1.5°C?

    Dec 23, 2022 Michael Spence questions the value of clinging to an aspirational climate target that is becoming more remote by the day.

  4. Done With Deglobalization?
    spence156_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_bidenxi Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    Done With Deglobalization?

    Nov 25, 2022 Michael Spence sees reason to hope that the scales may soon tip back from international confrontation to cooperation.

  5. Secular Inflation
    spence155_Sean GallupGetty Images_higher prices inflation Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    Secular Inflation

    Oct 12, 2022 Michael Spence identifies a wide range of long-term price pressures that cannot be eased through traditional channels.

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  1. eeckhout1_Feature ChinaFuture Publishing via Getty Images_digitalrenminbi Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images
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    The Simplest Fix for Banking

    Jan Eeckhout

    Following the latest banking crisis, monetary authorities should seriously consider how modern digital technologies could be used to avert such problems in the future. A central bank digital currency would both eliminate many barriers to financial transactions and end the risk of bank runs once and for all.

     explains how central bank digital currencies would end bank runs and banks' excessive risk-taking.
  2. chellaney161_ARUN SANKARAFP via Getty Images_blinken lavrov ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images
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    America’s Interest in Ending the Ukraine Crisis

    Brahma Chellaney explains why prolonging the conflict risks realizing the West’s worst geopolitical nightmare.
  3. krueger61_Tom WilliamsCQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images_Intelsemicronductors Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
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    America’s Industrial Policy Is Counterproductive

    Anne O. Krueger laments that the Biden administration is adding red tape to an inefficient subsidy program.
  4. braham1_YURI CORTEZAFP via Getty Images_informal workers YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images
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    Who Gets Squeezed by Austerity?

    Christy Braham urges governments to reject calls for budget cuts and invest in the welfare of billions of vulnerable workers.
  5. davies85_ Justin SullivanGetty Images_sanfranciscofed Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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    America’s Financial Regulatory System Is Still Broken

    Howard Davies

    When a bank fails in the United States, questions about who is to blame are often directed at many different regulatory agencies, because the system is complex and hard for outsiders to understand. In the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the case for an overhaul could not be stronger.

     laments that the post-2008 Dodd-Frank reforms left in place a framework riddled with structural shortcomings.
  6. fayolle3_MUNIR UZ ZAMANAFP via Getty Images_drinking water MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Water Crisis Is a Vital Investment Opportunity

    Ambroise Fayolle & Henk Ovink calls for new thinking about how we value the planet’s most important natural resource.
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    PS Events: What Economics Is Missing

    PS editors present the What Economics is Missing event.
  8. bildt109_JAAFAR ASHTIYEHAFP via Getty Images_israelpalestinewestbank Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images
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    Hell in the Holy Land

    Carl Bildt fears that the stage is set for another major violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
  9. strain11_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_fed Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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    The Fed Must Not Flinch

    Michael R. Strain urges the US central bank to continue raising interest rates, despite signs of financial-sector fragility.

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