Clark Center Forum

A rather unpleasant theme of recent columns has been the Clark Center’s various Expert Panels not exactly being overjoyed with much of the policy prospectuses emerging from the ongoing American presidential campaign. This was both predictable and, indeed, predicted by the first On Global Markets column back in February. Working in a subject close to […] 

Last week the Nobel Prize for Economics (or, for the truly pedantic the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economics in Memory of Alfred Nobel) was awarded to Daron Acemoglu, (a member of the Clark Center US Experts Panel) Simon Johnson, and James Robinson for work on the most important topic on economics – why are some […] 

This Finance survey examines (a) Establishing a domestic sovereign wealth fund to invest in domestic infrastructure, emerging technologies, and/or strategic sectors would bring substantial benefits to the US economy over a ten-year horizon; (b) For the US, establishing a sovereign wealth fund would be substantially better for citizens relative to reducing public debt burdens 

This European survey examines (a) The institutions of society - such as constitutions, laws, judiciaries, and property rights - substantially shape economic decisions, policies, and outcomes; (b) On average and over the long term, democracies deliver substantially better economic growth than other forms of government; (c) Countries where democracy and the rule of law are weakened are likely to experience measurable damage to their economic performance 

This US survey examines (a) The institutions of society - such as constitutions, laws, judiciaries, and property rights - substantially shape economic decisions, policies, and outcomes; (b) On average and over the long term, democracies deliver substantially better economic growth than other forms of government; (c) Countries where democracy and the rule of law are weakened are likely to experience measurable damage to their economic performance 

Florida has had the misfortune to be hit by two hurricanes just weeks apart. Alongside the tragic death toll, comes billions of dollars’ worth of economic damage. Hurricanes, and other extreme weather events, are increasingly economic events too. According to insurance modelers, Hurricane Milton is likely to result in claims worth around $36B whilst the […] 

This US survey examines (a) Establishing a domestic sovereign wealth fund to invest in infrastructure, emerging technologies, and/or strategic sectors would bring substantial benefits to the US economy over a ten-year horizon; (b) The typical advanced economy could substantially boost growth by establishing a sovereign wealth fund to invest in infrastructure, emerging technologies, and/or strategic sectors; (c) For a typical advanced economy, establishing a sovereign wealth fund would be substantially better for citizens relative to paying down the debt as a use for excess revenue 

The last month has seen much in the way of, often justified, gloomy introspection from European policymakers. Isabel Schnabel, a member of the European Central Bank’s policy-setting executive board made a useful speech on the 2nd of October rather tellingly entitled “Escaping Stagnation”. The raw facts speak for themselves, since the pandemic, the European economy […] 

Setting economic policy is hard. There are all sorts of reasons for this. For a start, the exact economic impact of any particular policy lever, interest rate change, law, or tax tweak is rarely entirely clear. Well-credentialed and good-meaning experts can, and do, disagree on the likely impacts. The responses to the Clark Center’s polls […] 

This European survey examines (a) Current enforcement of competition policy in Europe is not working to promote innovation and growth; b) European Union bureaucracy and regulations are a substantial constraint on innovation in Europe; c) The conduct of the dominant US tech companies in European markets (including lobbying and acquisition of start-ups and competitors) is a substantial constraint on innovation in Europe