Clark Center Forum

About the Clark Center Forum

The Forum for the Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets is home to the European, Finance, and US Economic Experts Panels as well as a repository of thoughtful, current, and reliable information regarding topics of the day.
US

Ukraine Peace Plans

Question A:

There are reports that the US strategy in negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict is prioritizing economic interdependence: https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/russia-u-s-peace-business-ties-4db9b290

Creating expanded mutual business opportunities for American, Russian, and Ukrainian firms would lead to a substantially more stable peace agreement.

Question B:

Pursuing economic interdependence without complementary diplomacy (including credible guarantees of Ukraine’s future security) is unlikely to end the conflict and subsequently preserve peace.

 
FT-Booth US Macroeconomists Survey

FTxBooth: Interest Rate Cut?

This installment of the FTxBooth US Macroeconomists Survey discusses economists’ thoughts regarding the December 2025 FOMC meeting and the likelihood of an interest rate cut. The summary results are below and you can read the Financial Times article here, subscription required. View the results of this survey>> For social media: Please use the hashtag #FTxBooth […] 
On Global Markets

AI and Growth

Wall Street certainly seems, despite recent wobbles, to be optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence. Despite some chaotic policymaking, the imposition of the steepest tariffs since the 1930s, a lengthy government shutdown and mounting concerns about the health of the jobs market, the benchmark S&P 500 index has advanced around 15% this year and […] 
Europe

AI, Growth, and Jobs

This European survey examines (a) Adoption of artificial intelligence will lead to a substantial increase in the growth rates of real per capita income in the US and Western Europe over the next ten years; b) Adoption of artificial intelligence will lead to a substantial increase in the unemployment rates in the US and Western Europe over the next ten years 
Europe

Low-carbon Energy R&D

This European survey examines (a) For reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, subsidies for R&D on low-carbon technologies are justified in addition to carbon pricing mechanisms like carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems; (b) Higher subsidies for R&D on low-carbon technologies are justified by the fact that their successful deployment would not only reduce emissions in OECD countries but also reduce developing countries' emissions by encouraging them to substitute away from fossil fuels