State Capacity for Building Infrastructure
This paper, by Zachary Liscow, examines state capacity for infrastructure construction in the United States. It identifies three elements of state capacity that drive up costs and slow down timelines: insufficient personnel, onerous procedures, and a lack of adequate tools. Liscow offers specific suggestions about ways to address these challenges and improve US public capacity ...
Why Crime Matters, and What to Do About It
In this paper, Jennifer Doleac describes what is known about crime trends in the US and outlines the best evidence to date on the effectiveness of various approaches to reducing crime through prevention, deterrence, and rehabilitation. Crime in the US rose during the 1980s and early 1990s before declining steadily until 2020. During the COVID-19 ...
Strengthening America’s Economic Dynamism
The Aspen Economic Strategy Group’s seventh annual policy volume focuses on the theme, Strengthening America’s Economic Dynamism. The volume’s publication comes at a time when US policymakers are turning away from free-market principles in favor of protectionist policies and more active government-directed industrial policy. These shifts, combined with growing economic and political difficulties including the ...
In Brief: The Recent Rise in US Labor Productivity
BRIEFLY US labor productivity has enjoyed a period of renewed growth over the past year, interrupting a nearly twenty-year decline: the 2.7 percent productivity growth in 2023 outpaces the 1.5 percent annual average since 2004, and it nearly matches the 2.9 percent pace seen during the country’s last productivity surge in the 1990s. While the ...
Key Takeaways From “AI for Good: A Conversation With Josh Tyrangiel”
Watch a recording of the event here. On June 9, 2026, the Aspen Economic Strategy Group hosted author Josh Tyrangiel to discuss his new book, AI for Good: How Real People are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter. The book explores real-world examples in areas such as education, healthcare, and public services where ...
Stablecoins After GENIUS: Private Money, Public Debt, and the Global Dollar
The 2025 GENIUS (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins) Act established the first comprehensive US regulatory framework for US dollar (USD)-backed stablecoins, setting the stage for significant growth of these digital assets in the coming years. In Stablecoins After GENIUS: Private Money, Public Debt, and the Global Dollar, Nellie Liang and Brent Neiman ...
Key Takeaways From “The American Economy in a New Era”
Watch a recording of the event here. On August 5, 2026, the Aspen Economic Strategy Group (AESG) hosted The American Economy in a New Era featuring Stanford University economist Erik Brynjolfsson and Lazard CEO and Chairman Peter Orszag in conversation with AESG Director Melissa S. Kearney. Opening the AESG’s sixth public program — held immediately ...
America’s Risky Debt: What Markets See That Policymakers Don’t
For decades, global investors were willing to pay a premium for the safety and liquidity of US Treasurys. That premium has eroded in recent years, and bond investors and monetary policymakers now disagree on how to price US government debt. In America’s Risky Debt: What Markets See That Policymakers Don’t, Hanno Lustig argues that markets ...
Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
HENRY M. PAULSON, JR. is the founder and chairman of the Paulson Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering global relationships that advance economic prosperity, promote sustainable growth, and maintain global order in a rapidly evolving world. He is executive chairman of TPG Rise Climate, the climate investing platform of the global private equity firm TPG. ...