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Michael Spence

Michael Spence

Writing for PS since 2008
179 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. What’s Wrong With Germany’s Economy?
    spence180_Picture AllianceGettyImages_germany_annual_economic_report Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    What’s Wrong With Germany’s Economy?

    Jan 30, 2025 Michael Spence thinks the country’s prospects depend significantly on closing the digital-technology gap with the US and China.

  2. The US Economy’s Trust Deficit
    Matt Gush/Getty Images

    The US Economy’s Trust Deficit

    Dec 20, 2024 Michael Spence considers the causes and consequences of Americans’ declining faith in media and government.

  3. China Can Beat Back Deflation
    spence178_NurPhotoGettyImages_china_deflation_supermarket1 NurPhoto/Getty Images

    China Can Beat Back Deflation

    Nov 6, 2024 Michael Spence predicts that, with the right policies, the economy’s growth momentum can be restored within 2-3 years.

  4. The High Cost of Excluding Chinese Technology
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    The High Cost of Excluding Chinese Technology

    Oct 2, 2024 Michael Spence warns that both the global economy and the sustainability agenda could be dealt a devastating blow.

  5. Europe Needs a New Economic Vision
    spence175_eu unnivation iStock / Getty Images Plus/greenbutterfly

    Europe Needs a New Economic Vision

    Aug 21, 2024 Michael Spence is confident that the European Union can make up ground lost to the US and China – if it knows what it wants.

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  1. brown117_Robert HradilGetty Images_WHO Robert Hradil/Getty Images

    A Reformed WHO Should Make Its Case to America

    Gordon Brown wants to reassure the Trump administration that a revamped organization could serve US and global interests.
  2. tbunde6_New Look CastingGettyImages_globe_jigsaw New Look Casting/Getty Images

    The Age of Multipolarization

    Tobias Bunde & Sophie Eisentraut think a better future depends on whether a world with more poles can find ways to mitigate dangerous divisions.
  3. eichengreen200_PhotoQuestGettyImages_IBM_computer_france PhotoQuest/Getty Images

    Will US Export Restrictions Work?

    Barry Eichengreen

    Perhaps US efforts to cut off China’s access to advanced semiconductors will be more successful than analogous restrictions on tech exports to France in the 1960s. But we now have at least one data point – DeepSeek – that suggests otherwise.

    questions the effectiveness of efforts to limit China’s access to advanced semiconductors.
  4. qian40_MARK RALSTONAFP via Getty Images_UStradewar Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

    Trump’s Trade War Is About More Than Trade

    Nancy Qian considers the domestic and global implications of the new US administration’s tariff policies.
  5. haldar42_ CHANDAN KHANNAAFP via Getty Images_maga Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

    What Is MAGAnomics?

    Antara Haldar tries to make sense of the new US administration's internally contradictory economic-policy program.
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    PS Events: AI Action Summit

    PS editors present the AI Action Summit event.
  7. laidi34_Maja HitijGettyImages_scholz_frederiksen Maja Hitij/Getty Images

    Europe Can and Must Resist Trump

    Zaki Laïdi explains how the European Union should respond to American imperial nationalism.
  8. bouverot1_JOEL SAGETAFP via Getty Images_aiactionsummit Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images

    Bending the Arc of AI Development Toward Shared Progress

    Anne Bouverot outlines the French government's objectives for the AI Action Summit in Paris.
  9. hampton2_Luis TatoGettyImages_somalia_debt_crisis Luis Tato/Getty Images

    Developing Countries Need a New Approach to Long-Term Financing

    Hannah Wanjie Ryder & Kate Hampton propose reforms that would facilitate low-interest lending to fund critical climate and development goals.

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