Clark Center Forum

It has always been quite hard to square the Trump presidential campaign’s regular focus on ‘affordability’ – or sometimes just ‘the price of eggs’ – with the actions his second administration has embarked on in office. In the view of most economists, the President’s signature economic policy – the imposition of tariffs – makes many […] 

Over the last few years global equity market investors, and especially those closely following US markets, have devoted an awful lot of time to thinking about the future of artificial intelligence (AI). The promise of speculator returns, and the potential of large first moved advantages, have seen the price of AI-exposed firms – and in […] 

This Finance survey examines: If an AI-driven services productivity boom materializes over the next five years, it will substantially reduce current stock market valuations for firms with a large percentage of white-collar employees 

The Clean Air Act is a foundational piece of US environmental legislation and, since 2009, has sat at the core of the government’s approach to regulating harmful emissions, such as carbon monoxide. The Environmental Protection Agency has now revoked its so-called greenhouse gas endangerment finding, potentially leading to a wave of deregulation. As a useful […] 

This European survey examines: US regulation of greenhouse gases – including carbon dioxide from motor vehicles and power plants, and methane from oil and gas wells – rests on the Clean Air Act. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced its rescission of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding and motor vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards:
https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/final-rule-rescission-greenhouse-gas-endangerment. The President of the National Academy of Sciences subsequently wrote to the organization's members, noting that 'the EPA justified its decision on legal, economic, and regulatory opinions, and not on the science’. (a) The weight of economic analysis and evidence supports the conclusion that some form of regulation of greenhouse gas emissions is warranted; (b) For US consumers and firms, the health and environmental benefits of greenhouse gas emission standards outweigh the costs, making the EPA rescission substantially net negative for American society; (c) Since the environmental costs of greenhouse gas emissions are globally distributed, some form of collective international regulation is warranted 

This US survey examines: US regulation of greenhouse gases – including carbon dioxide from motor vehicles and power plants, and methane from oil and gas wells – rests on the Clean Air Act. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced its rescission of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding and motor vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards:
https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/final-rule-rescission-greenhouse-gas-endangerment. The President of the National Academy of Sciences subsequently wrote to the organization's members, noting that 'the EPA justified its decision on legal, economic, and regulatory opinions, and not on the science’. (a) The weight of economic analysis and evidence supports the conclusion that some form of regulation of greenhouse gas emissions is warranted; (b) For US consumers and firms, the health and environmental benefits of greenhouse gas emission standards outweigh the costs, making the EPA rescission substantially net negative for American society; (c) Since the environmental costs of greenhouse gas emissions are globally distributed, some form of collective international regulation is warranted 

Your columnist’s first job after graduating from university was working in the team at the Bank of England that compiled and analysed the UK’s monetary aggregates. This was, sadly for him, in the days before the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent birth of quantitative easing as a major tool of policy revived – at […] 

This Finance survey examines: Interest-bearing stablecoins, either via direct issuer payments or exchange-provided rewards, would measurably erode the deposit franchise of banks in developed-market economies 

Over the past three months, alongside the regular coverage of the Clark Center’s polls and other news, On Global Markets has been reporting on the discussions held at the Clark Center Economic Experts Conference 9/10 October. Most of those sessions were held under the Chatham House Rule. This is the final conference report. Following a […] 

This US survey examines (a) Restrictions on large institutional investors buying single-family homes would measurably improve the affordability of home ownership; (b) Having the government-sponsored housing agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities would measurably improve the affordability of home ownership