Edward Glaeser image

Edward Glaeser

14 Votes

Harvard

  • Cambridge, MA

About

  • Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics
  • Director, Taubman Center for State and Local Government, John F. Kennedy School of Government (2004—2014)
  • Chair, Department of Economics, Harvard University

Voting History

US

Institutions and Prosperity

Question A: The institutions of society - such as constitutions, laws, judiciaries, and property rights - substantially shape economic decisions, policies, and outcomes.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
8
Strongly Agree
8
Question B: On average and over the long term, democracies deliver substantially better economic growth than other forms of government.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
5
Agree
6
Question C: Countries where democracy and the rule of law are weakened are likely to experience measurable damage to their economic performance.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
6
Agree
6
US

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Question A: The Democrats and Republicans have floated the idea of a US sovereign wealth fund. For background, see here and here.

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.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Disagree
8
Disagree
6
Question 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.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Disagree
8
Disagree
5
Question 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.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Disagree
8
Disagree
5
US

National Rent Caps

Question A: Capping annual rent increases by corporate landlords at 5%, as proposed by President Biden, would make middle-income Americans substantially better off over the next ten years.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Disagree
9
Disagree
6
Question B: Capping annual rent increases at 5%, as proposed by President Biden, would substantially reduce the amount of available apartments for rent over the next ten years.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Agree
9
Agree
5
Question C: Capping annual rent increases at 5%, as proposed by President Biden, would substantially reduce US income inequality over the next ten years.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Disagree
9
Disagree
5
US

Tax Cuts Extension

Question A: All else equal, making permanent the 2017 tax cuts that were set to expire at the end of 2025 would substantially increase federal deficits and the federal debt over the coming decade.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
7
Agree
7
Question B: All else equal, making permanent the 2017 tax cuts that were set to expire at the end of 2025 would measurably increase the rate of US economic growth over the coming decade.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Uncertain
7
Disagree
5
Question C: In the US, given Congressional budget scoring rules, temporary tax cuts generate sufficient pressure for extension as to be effectively permanent.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
7
Uncertain
5
Question A: The lower willingness of private firms to go public, combined with the increased number of publicly traded firms being taken private over the last 25 years, is measurably net negative for economic growth.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree
5
Uncertain
5
Question B: All else equal, reducing regulatory barriers (including reporting requirements such as Sarbanes Oxley 404) to public listing would substantially increase the share of publicly traded firms in the economy.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Uncertain
5
Agree
4
Question C: The lack of transparency about unlisted private firms' financial performance substantially hinders the efficiency of the allocation of capital.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree
5
Uncertain
5
US

Regulating AI

Question A: Antitrust investigations of the dominant firms in artificial intelligence are likely to lead to substantially lower prices of AI products and services for businesses and consumers.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree
7
Uncertain
5
Question B: Antitrust investigations of the dominant firms in artificial intelligence are likely to promote greater competition and innovation in AI.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Disagree
8
Uncertain
5
Question C: Potential harms from artificial intelligence are better assessed by market deployment rather than seeking to slow the pace of AI research and implementation.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Uncertain
3
Uncertain
5
Question A: The proposed US tariffs on Chinese EVs would lead to measurably higher employment in the US automotive industry over the next five years.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree
5
Uncertain
5
Question B: The proposed US tariffs on Chinese EVs would lead to measurably higher prices of EVs in the US.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Agree
8
Agree
7
Question C: The proposed US tariffs on Chinese EVs would measurably slow the adoption of green technology by consumers.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Agree
8
Agree
5
US

Drug Policy

Reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug would lead to measurably higher social welfare.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
3
Agree
5
US

Tariffs

Question A: Tripling existing import taxes on Chinese steel and aluminum products would lead to measurably higher employment in the US steel industry over the next five years.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Uncertain
5
Uncertain
5
Question B: Tripling the tariffs would lead to measurably higher steel and aluminum prices for American producers and measurably higher finished-good prices for American consumers.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
6
Agree
5
Question C: The gains for the American economy from tripling the tariffs would measurably outweigh the losses.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree
7
Disagree
5
Universities that abandon temporary pandemic test-optional policies and return to requiring standardized test scores for admissions will create measurably enhanced opportunities for potentially high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Agree
8
Agree
6
Comment: Test scores make it possible to identify qualified people who don't come from elite feeder schools.
US

Supermarket Merger

Question A: The FTC is opposed to Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons. Critics argue that with sufficient divestitures, the deal would be consistent with past FTC policies.

Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons would lead to substantially higher grocery prices and/or lower product quality/services for customers of the two companies in locations where both are present.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree
3
Uncertain
4
Comment: Many of these markets have other sources of competition -- and all have access to Amazon. Many chains have difficulty having place specific prices, which also limits the ability to exploit local market power.
Question B: Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons would have a substantially negative effect on workers at the two companies in locations where both are present.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree
6
Uncertain
5
Comment: It seems quite unlikely to me that a couple of grocery stores are effective monopsonists in any market.
US

Prescription Drugs

Question A: Allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies will lead to a substantial reduction in the costs of prescription drugs for US retirees.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
5
Agree
5
Question B: Allowing imports of medicines from Canada will lead to a substantial reduction in the costs of prescription drugs for US consumers without compromising safety.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
5
Agree
5
Comment: The big issue with reducing price is reducing the incentive to innovate. One way to view this is that it reduces the ability of drug companies to price discriminate across countries.
Question A: A tolling program for New York City is out for public consultation with proposed charges on vehicles entering the central business district of Manhattan summarized here: https://new.mta.info/document/129191

The proposed tolls on vehicles entering the central business district of Manhattan are likely to lead to a substantial reduction in traffic congestion in the targeted area.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Agree
9
Agree
5
Comment: The track record of congestion pricing is good good in London, Singapore and Stockholm.
-see background information here
Question B: The proposed tolls on vehicles entering Manhattan are likely to lead to a substantial increase in traffic congestion just outside the central business district, above 60th Street, in the outer boroughs and New Jersey.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree
7
Uncertain
4
Comment: If you get from place a to place b through place c, then a congestion charge on place c will lead to displacement, but if place c is a destination from place a and place b then a congestion charge in place c should reduce congestion in places a and b.
US

Economic Sanctions and Aid

Question A: The economic and financial sanctions against Russia are substantially limiting its ability to wage war on Ukraine.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree
3
Uncertain
4
Comment: I am far more uncertain about the efficacy of the sanctions, than I am about the sanctions themselves. The sanctions would be justifiable even if they are primarily symbols of outrage..
Question B: In the absence of continuing flows of Western economic aid, Ukraine's wartime economy will be substantially compromised.
Vote Confidence Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Strongly Agree
8
Strongly Agree
7
Comment: The mismatch in resources between Ukraine and Russia, and the extent of current destruction, implies to me that ending aid would lead to enormous pain and hardship.