SEARCH: Immigration

Can Innovation Policy Restore Inclusive Prosperity in America?

Van Reenen argues the U.S. should pursue a robust innovation policy composed of tax credits, direct subsidies, and human capital investments, which have been shown to spur innovation and wage growth. He proposes combining these approaches into a 10-year $1 trillion Grand Innovation Challenge, which would reinvigorate R&D investment, promote American technological leadership, and advance policy goals of inclusive growth.

Science and Innovation: The Under-Fueled Engine of Prosperity

Benjamin Jones (Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University) argues that the United States is vastly underinvesting in science and innovation, hindering productivity growth. He presents evidence that increased public spending on research and development would lead to improvements in standards of living and health, enhance our economic competitiveness, and advance our nation’s capacity to ...

Rebuilding the Post-Pandemic Economy

After suffering the worst economic shock since the Great Depression last year, the American economy is recovering in fits and starts. While many businesses are reopening their doors and thriving, continued uncertainty about the course of the virus, the inflation outlook, labor shortages, and many other factors are hampering a full return to normal activity. The COVID-19 pandemic also reinforced and exacerbated many of the biggest structural economic challenges in our society. It precipitated the largest economic relief and stimulus spending in US history and transformed the way that millions of Americans live and work, with automation, e-commerce, and telework all playing a bigger role. The pandemic and its aftershocks reignited not only the perennial debates about the appropriate role and size of government, but also present new and urgent questions about how the post-pandemic economy will take shape. The policy volume Rebuilding the Post Pandemic Economy examine important questions about how the post-pandemic economy will take shape. What are some initial lessons we can take away from the novel government programs that were deployed to provide economic relief and stimulus? How can we implement new infrastructure investments to maximize efficiency and equity, and best respond to the climate crisis? After a year of widespread school closures, what have we learned about the role of K-12 education in perpetuating or reducing social and economic inequities? And how should American trade policies evolve to promote economic recovery and strengthen America’s role in the global economy?

America and International Trade Cooperation

The United States’ approach to trade policy and international engagement is in a period of transition. An AESG report titled “America and International Trade Cooperation,” written by economist Chad P. Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, provides a framework for evaluating the current US approach and makes specific policy recommendations. Bown puts forward ...

Why and How to Expand US Immigration

Immigration has long been celebrated as an engine of America’s economic growth and cultural vibrancy, even as the changes it brings often cause concern among the populace. An estimated 13.7 percent of those living in the United States today were born outside its borders, nearly as high as the peak of 14.8 percent in 1890 ...

The Causes and Consequences of Declining US Fertility

US births have fallen steadily since 2007 and the total fertility rate is now well below replacement level fertility—the rate at which the population replaces itself from one generation to the next. Our analysis suggests that this trend is unlikely to reverse in the coming years. The decline in births is widespread across demographic groups ...

Aspen Economic Strategy Group Releases New Policy Analysis on Why and How to Expand US Immigration

Immigration helps address the US’ growing demographic challenges posed by declining fertility and aging population and spurs economic growth Contact: Kelly Friendly kellyfriendly@gmail.com Washington, DC — December 6, 2022 — The Aspen Economic Strategy Group (AESG) today released a paper, “Why and How to Expand US Immigration”, by Tara Watson, the David M. Rubenstein Fellow ...

Book: Economic Policy in a More Uncertain World

The Aspen Economic Strategy Group’s Annual Policy Volume Economic Policy in a More Uncertain World marks the group’s 5th anniversary and is released against a backdrop historic economic and strategic uncertainty. The book’s seven chapters, each written by leading experts and edited by AESG Director Melissa S. Kearney and Deputy Director Amy Ganz, provide a ...