PERIOD

Déclaration de Berlin in Le Monde – Article
Le Monde, 28.06.2024
Législatives 2024 : l’appel de 70 économistes internationaux pour « regagner la confiance des peuples »

From the Washington Consensus to the Berlin Declaration – Article
Dani Rodrik, Laura Tyson and Thomas Fricke, Project Syndicate, 27.06.2024
Dozens of leading economists and practitioners convened in Berlin at the end of May for a summit organized by the Forum for a New Economy. Remarkably, the summit led to something resembling a new understanding that may replace the decades-long reign of neoliberal orthodoxy.

If Democracy Isn’t Pro-Worker, It Will Die – Article
Daron Acemoglu, Project Syndicate, 20.06.2024
Democracy is in crisis throughout the industrialized world because its performance has fallen short of what was promised. Far-right and extremist parties are benefiting from the fact that the center left and center right are now associated with wage stagnation, rising inequality, and other unfavorable trends.

Europe’s progressives must reclaim ‘security’ and ‘freedom’ from the populist right – here’s how – Article
Florian Ranft, The Guardian, 20.06.2024
People fear threats from terrorism, climate crisis and disruptive technology. By working together, we can give them hope. 

How to tax the ultra-rich the same as you and me – Article
Martin Sandbu, Financial Times, 27.06.2024
G20 should give serious consideration to blueprint for global minimum standard of taxing billionaires

Is debt a burden for the young? – Article
Interview by Mark Schieritz and Nike Mosa, Die Zeit, 26.06.2024
Yes, says Max Mordhorst from the FDP: if the state borrows money, future generations will have to pay the interest. No, replies activist Carl Mühlbach: Better more loans than dilapidated schools.

Economist suggests storing grain to prepare for next global emergency – Article
Tom Perkins, The Guardian, 20.06.2024
Isabella Weber, who linked corporate profits to inflation, shares how to prevent food shortages – and price gouging

Can giant warehouses stop inflation?- Artikel (Paywall)
Benjamin Bidder, Spiegel, 21.06.2024
Hoarding against inflation: Economist Isabella Weber calls for new tools to cushion price shocks. Her idea: huge centrally managed warehouses for raw materials. But there’s a catch.

The Queen Bee of Bidenomics – Article
Farah Stockman, The New York Times, 17.06.2024
A portrait of Jennifer Harris, whose economic ideas have a decisive influence on current US economic policy.

A New Economics Playbook is About to Drop in Europe. The U.S. Should be on Notice. – Article
Victoria Guida, Politico, 21.06.2024
The former Italian prime minister is preparing to issue a sweeping report on economic competitiveness.

Shockflation Has Uprooted the European Union: High Time for New Policy Tools – Article
Jens Van’t Klooster & Isabella Weber, Le Grand Continent, 14.06.2024
In the era of “shockflation”, rising prices for households are mainly reflected in higher profits for companies. For Jens van’t Klooster and Isabella Weber, monetary policy cannot be the only answer: the EU must find the solution to contain inflation in its institutional arrangements.

The federal government lacks 40 billion, at least – Article
Christian Endt & Mark Schieritz, Zeit Online, 18.06.2024
If the traffic light coalition fails to agree on a new budget, the government is likely to collapse. These charts show how much money is missing and where it could come from.

Young people are withdrawing their trust from us – Article
Lisa Paus, FAZ, 16.06.2024
Why we urgently need an enhanced intergenerational contract. A guest article by the Federal Minister for Family Affairs.

The Vice-Chancellor’s economist – Article (Paywall)
Alexander Wulfers, FAZ, 14.06.2024
Simon Jäger is Robert Habeck’s new advisor. Can he reconcile the Minister of Economic Affairs with the economy?

Biden’s economy is booming, but a Trump victory is becoming more likely – Article (Paywall)
Katharina Kort, Annett Meiritz, Moritz Koch, Handelsblatt, 18.06.2024
Compared to other nations, the USA is doing extremely well economically. Nevertheless, most US citizens are dissatisfied and many sympathize with Donald Trump. Five developments contribute to this.

Europe must prepare for five years of radical change – Article Paywall)
Laurence Boone, Financial Times, 19.06.2024
It otherwise risks being left behind by the US and China.

A Monetary and Economic Order Fit for the Twenty-First Century Article (Paywall)
Ulrich Volz, Janak Raj and Monica Herz, Project Syndicate, 14.06.2024
If the international community is to have a chance of addressing twenty-first-century challenges effectively and equitably, the global economic and financial architecture that was created eight decades ago must be radically reformed. Eight priorities stand out.

How Techno-Libertarians Fell in Love with Big Government – Article (Paywall)
Quinn Slobodian, Project Syndicate, 13.06.2024
In recent years, Silicon Valley’s titans, many of whom previously advocated “exiting” the United States, have been queuing to attach themselves, remora-like, to the federal government. Their supposedly principled opposition to the state vanishes as soon as the state becomes a major client.

The life and death of great political narratives – Article
Jean-Louis Missika, Makronom, 17.06.2024
The two great narratives that structured the political landscape of the 20th century no longer sell today – which explains many of the phenomena and problems that characterize contemporary politics. An essay by Jean-Louis Missika.

The Economic Effects Of Europe’s Election – Article (Paywall)
Martin Sandbu, Financial Times, 06.06.2024
How a rising right might change the EU’s policy course.

Industry calls for billions to combat investment backlog – Article
David Böcking, Spiegel, 12.06.2024
In the midst of the budget dispute between the traffic light coalition, German industry is presenting a plan to mobilize up to 400 billion euros. “Politicians are not coming up with solutions,” says BDI boss Russwurm, explaining the initiative.

Industry’s great lament – Article
Caspar Busse, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 10.06.2024
Companies and business associations are calling for a new course in Brussels after the European elections, economists are warning of a standstill: the election results are causing concern for the economy.

We need the EU to finance the transformation – Article
Dominika Biegon & Cédric Koch, FES Online, 11.06.2024
The future of the German and European economy has a financing problem. How the new EU legislature can now launch a joint investment offensive.

Chinese Exports Threaten Europe Even More Than The Us – Article
Sander Tordoir, Politico, 07.06.2024
Biden is right to heed working class voters in Pennsylvania. The Continent, which has even more to lose from a second China shock, better start listening to its workers too.

Debt brake: IW experts make three proposals for reform – Article (Paywall)
Martin Greive & Jan Hildebrand, Handelsblatt, 12.06.2024
Economists put forward ideas on how the debt brake can be reformed. Public finances should nevertheless remain sound. The reluctant FDP is lured with another argument. 

How social imbalances weigh on climate policy – Article (Paywall)
Sinan Reçber, Tagesspiegel Background, 13.06.2024
Rising costs for low-income earners and billions for the wealthy: A new think tank is entering the German debate on transformation with eleven theses on climate social policy. Founder Brigitte Knopf sees the solution in low-emission infrastructure and climate money. Some experts are critical of direct payments or see alternatives to them.

The Way Forward For Services-Led Economic Development – Article (Paywall)
Dani Rodrik & Rohan Sandhu, Project Syndicate, 10.06.2024
Today’s developing economies are in a bind, because innovation in manufacturing has taken a predominantly skill-biased form, reducing demand for workers with relatively low levels of education. This means that labor-absorbing services must become productive enough to support income growth.

What Comes After Neoliberalism? – Article (Paywall)
Project Syndicate “Big Question”, 04.06.2024
The steep tariff increases on Chinese goods that US President Joe Biden’s administration recently announced are just the latest in a long string of interventionist economic policies that fly in the face of decades of neoliberal orthodoxy. And the Biden administration is hardly alone: a growing number of governments, economists, and institutions are rethinking the free-market doctrine to which they long subscribed. In this Big Question, we ask Mehrsa Baradaran, Anne O. Krueger, Mariana Mazzucato, Dani Rodrik, Joseph E. Stiglitz, and Michael R. Strain whether the neoliberal era is ending – and if so, what will follow it.

Check out the gallery with some highlights from the Summit – Here

Economists call for an agenda against populism – Article

Stefan Schultz, 29.05.2024, Der Spiegel

Dozens of renowned academics are calling for a reorientation of economic policy. They are proposing far-reaching changes to counter the loss of confidence in liberal democracies.

The Berlin Summit Declaration and the new consensus around industrial policyNewsletter

Adam Tooze, 29.05.2024, Substack Chartbook 286

“Six years ago a conference like this would have been impossible. The agreement we now have on industrial policy, the lack of fundamental criticism … when I think about it, when I hear myself saying this out loud, I’m amazed.” That was Dani Rodrik yesterday at a conference hosted on the outskirts of Berlin by the Forum New Economy which brought together a group of economists and other experts to discuss the new paradigm of economic policy.

Berlin Manifesto: Influential economists call for more state and less market to strengthen democracy against populists – Article  

Romanus Otte, 29.05.2024, Business Insider

In response to the rise of populism, a group of influential economists have called for a more active state, more redistribution and industrial policy to counter distrust of liberal democracies, and in their Berlin Manifesto they call for the state to create jobs, balance inequality and shape better globalization. The call was published by the Forum New Economy and signed by globally influential economists such as Dani Rodrik and Thomas Piketty.

Governments Must Regain Voter Trust With New Economic PoliciesArtikel

Richard McGahey, 30.05.2024, Forbes

Daily reporting on election campaigns (who’s up or down in polls, what did a candidate say today), is obscuring an underlying important theme: voters are very distrustful of government. The Berlin-based Forum for a New Economy has just addressed how to attack this critical problem, saying “to avert major damages to humanity and the planet, we must urgently get to the root causes of people’s resentment” or both democracy and also economic well-being will suffer.

The Rise of Mesoeconomics – Article

William H. Janeway, 17.05.2024, Project Syndicate

The digitalization of economic life and real-world data has opened up new possibilities for the study of the economic networks, regions, and sectors that ultimately determine how economic policies play out in the real world. Such modes of thinking will be crucial for economic policymaking in a new age of geopolitical risk.

We are a step closer to taxing the super-rich – Article

Martin Sandbu, 19.05.2024, Financial Times

What once seemed like an impossibility is now being considered by G20 finance ministers.

A New Centrism Is Rising in WashingtonArticle

David Leonhardt, 19.05.2024, The New York Times

Call it neopopulism: a bipartisan attitude that mistrusts the free-market ethos instead of embracing it.

A 100 Percent Tariff on Chinese Cars Is a Bad Idea. Here’s a Good One – Article

Kate Aronoff, 20.05.2024, The New Republic

Collaboration with Chinese firms may sound counterintuitive. But U.S. automakers are already doing it.

Not all American tariffs are created equalArticle

Rana Foroohar, 20.05.2024, Financial Times

Unlike Trump’s policies, the Biden trade strategy aims to build domestic industrial capacity and could be good for US allies.

Does austerity help right-wing parties? – Article

Jonas Schaible, 25.05.2024, Der Spiegel

The Federal Minister of Finance doubts that austerity policies help extreme right-wing parties such as the AfD. However, several recent studies show a connection.

OUR MAIN TOPICS

New Paradigm

NEW PARADIGM

After decades of overly naive market belief, we urgently need new answers to the great challenges of our time. More so, we need a whole new paradigm to guide us. We collect everything about the people and the community who are dealing with the question of a new paradigm and who analyze the historical and present impact of paradigms and narratives – whether in new contributions, performances, books and events.

Redefining
the role of
the state

REDEFINING
THE ROLE OF
THE STATE

For decades, there was a consensus that reducing the role of the state and cutting public debt would generate wealth. This contributed to a chronic underinvestment in education and public infrastructure. New research focuses on establishing when and how governments need to intervene to better contribute to long-term prosperity and to stabilize rather than aggravate economic fluctuations.

Remaking
finance

REMAKING
FINANCE

More than a decade after the financial crisis there still seems to be something seriously wrong with the financial system. Financial markets still tend to periodically misprice risk and contribute to boom and bust cycles. A better financial system needs to discourage short-termism and speculative activity, curtail systemic risk and distribute wealth more broadly.

Greening
prosperity

GREENING
PROSPERITY

During the high point of market orthodoxy, economists argued that the most 'efficient' way to combat climate change was to simply let markets determine the price of carbon emissions. Today, there is a growing consensus that prices need to be regulated and that a carbon price on its own might not be enough.

Reducing
inequality

REDUCING
INEQUALITY

The rising gap between rich and poor has become a threat to social cohesion in most rich countries. To reverse this trend it will be crucial to better understand the importance of different drivers of income and wealth inequality.

Innovation Lab

INNOVATION LAB

Do we need a whole new understanding of economic growth? What would be a real alternative? How viable are alternatives to GDP when it comes to measuring prosperity? These and other more fundamental challenges are what this section is about.

Globalization
for all

GLOBALIZATION
FOR ALL

After three decades of poorly managed integration, globalization is threatened by social discontent and the rise of populist forces. A new paradigm will need better ways not only to compensate the groups that have lost, but to distribute the gains more broadly from the start.

Europe
beyond markets

EUROPE
BEYOND MARKETS

The euro was planned during a period in which economic policy making was driven by a deep belief in market liberalism and the near impossibility of systemic financial crises. This belief has been brought into question since the euro crisis, which showed that panics do happen. New thinking needs to focus on developing mechanisms to protect eurozone countries from such panics and to foster economic convergence between members.

Corona Crisis

CORONA CRISIS

The current Corona crisis is probably the worst economic crisis of the post-World War 2 era. Economists are working hard on mitigating the economic effects caused by COVID-19 to prevent a second Great Depression, the break-up of the Eurozone and the end of globalisation. We collect the most important contributions.