A Forum’s Nobel talk about new paradigms

Michael Spence was awarded the Nobel prize in 2001 together with George Akerlof and Joseph Stiglitz for their work on the imperfections of markets. Today such insights appear fundamental to understanding why the long-held market-based paradigm has failed. A conversation with Thomas Fricke centered on new ways of thinking in economics, today’s fundamental challenges, and the difficulty of crafting a new narrative for economic policy making.

Mike Spence has lived in Milan for many years, and that is where Thomas met him for the interview – in the living room of the apartment he shares with his wife, a well-known Italian journalist, their children and – not to be forgotten – Ginny the dog. She repeatedly induced panic attacks in Steve the cameraman because she couldn’t bear to be confined to the neighboring room and made her presence felt by contributing background noise. She also made it three on the photo.