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Michael Spence

Michael Spence

Writing for PS since 2008
179 commentaries

Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics, is Professor Emeritus of Economics and a former dean of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Senior Adviser to General Atlantic, and Chairman of the firm’s Global Growth Institute. He is Chair of the Advisory Board of the Asia Global Institute and serves on the Academic Committee at Luohan Academy. He is a former chair of the Commission on Growth and Development and a co-author (with Mohamed A. El-Erian, Gordon Brown, and Reid Lidow) of Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World (Simon & Schuster, 2023).

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  1. What’s Wrong With Germany’s Economy?
    spence180_Picture AllianceGettyImages_germany_annual_economic_report Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    What’s Wrong With Germany’s Economy?

    Jan 30, 2025 Michael Spence thinks the country’s prospects depend significantly on closing the digital-technology gap with the US and China.

  2. The US Economy’s Trust Deficit
    Matt Gush/Getty Images

    The US Economy’s Trust Deficit

    Dec 20, 2024 Michael Spence considers the causes and consequences of Americans’ declining faith in media and government.

  3. China Can Beat Back Deflation
    spence178_NurPhotoGettyImages_china_deflation_supermarket1 NurPhoto/Getty Images

    China Can Beat Back Deflation

    Nov 6, 2024 Michael Spence predicts that, with the right policies, the economy’s growth momentum can be restored within 2-3 years.

  4. The High Cost of Excluding Chinese Technology
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    The High Cost of Excluding Chinese Technology

    Oct 2, 2024 Michael Spence warns that both the global economy and the sustainability agenda could be dealt a devastating blow.

  5. Europe Needs a New Economic Vision
    spence175_eu unnivation iStock / Getty Images Plus/greenbutterfly

    Europe Needs a New Economic Vision

    Aug 21, 2024 Michael Spence is confident that the European Union can make up ground lost to the US and China – if it knows what it wants.

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  1. fbirol4_UCGGettyImages_south_africa_power_grid UCG/Getty Images

    What African Electrification Requires

    Fatih Birol & Alain Ebobissé highlight the need for greater private-sector participation to boost investments in power grids.
  2. nye268_John MooreGetty Images_trumpUN John Moore/Getty Images

    How World Order Changes

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

    World order is a matter of degree: it varies over time, depending on technological, political, social, and ideological factors that can affect the global distribution of power and influence norms. It can be radically altered both by broader historical trends and by a single major power's blunders.

    examines the role of evolving power dynamics and norms in bringing about stable arrangements among states.
  3. buruma226_Picture AllianceGettyImages_tel _aviv_antiwar_protests Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Israel’s Blind Spot

    Ian Buruma explains the lack of sympathy, even among the country’s many anti-war protesters, for Palestinian suffering.
  4. sirimanne1_Visual China Group via Getty ImagesVisual China Group via Getty Images_robotelderly Visual China Group via Getty Images

    Will AI Close or Widen the Development Gap?

    Shamika Sirimanne & Xiaolan Fu call for multilateral action and grassroots pressure to ensure that the technology serves all countries.
  5. dickinsongoodman1_DrAfter123Getty Images_datasurveillance DrAfter123/Getty Images

    Don’t Let Governments Break Encryption

    Jessica Dickinson Goodman & Ezequiel Passeron Kitroser urge citizens and lawmakers to fight for the privacy that previous generations took for granted.
  6. wmoore1_Sofiia PetrovaGetty Images_babyvitamins Sofiia Petrova/Getty Images

    Philanthropy in an Era of Declining Development Aid

    William Moore urges practitioners and policymakers to focus on already proven, scalable solutions.
  7. adebajo14_Bill PuglianoGettyImages_trump_wrestlemania Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

    South Africa’s Wrestling Match With Trump

    Adekeye Adebajo considers whether the current G20 president can still advance its agenda in the face of US obstruction.
  8. haldar44_ Ann Ronan PicturesPrint CollectorGetty Images_aristotle Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images

    How Aristotle Can Save Us

    Antara Haldar touts a conception of society in which politics and education cultivate the virtue of its members.
  9. laidi35_Pacific PressGettyImages_kaja_kallas_un Pacific Press/Getty Images

    Trump vs. Europe

    Zaki Laïdi

    Donald Trump has left no doubt that he wants to build an authoritarian, illiberal world order based on traditional spheres of influence and agreements with other illiberal leaders. The only role that the European Union plays in his script is an obstacle that must be pushed aside.

    warns that the European Union has no place in Donald Trump’s illiberal worldview.

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