Bradley Distinguished Lecture Series
Will AI Solve Rich Countries’ Debt Woes?
Kenneth Rogoff is Boas Professor of economics at Harvard University, and former chief economist at the IMF.
Although public debt levels in many countries, including the United States, are at record levels, many commentators believe that the arrival of AI will put all concerns in the rear view memory, with booming growth pushing up tax revenues even as falling interest rates push down costs. Unfortunately, the path to abundance and harmony is riddled with economic and political landmines that make near-term crisis considerably more likely than near-term abundance. Longer-term achieving an economically and politically sustainable distribution of benefits is not only challenging for individual countries, but for the world as a whole, given that regions with the fastest population growth seem likely to be among the biggest losers. Given this turmoil, how does one assess the risks of a debilitating major financial or debt crisis. Parts of the lecture will build on Rogoff’s recent book “Our Dollar, Your Problem.”
About the Speaker
Kenneth Rogoff is Boas Professor of economics at Harvard University, and former chief economist at the IMF. His influential and NY Times bestelling 2009 book with Carmen Reinhart, This Time Is Different, shows the remarkable quantitative similarities across time and countries in the roots and aftermath of financial crises. Rogoff is also known for his pioneering work on central bank independence, and on exchange rates. His syndicated global economy column is published in over 50 countries. Rogoff’s national bestselling recent book Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider’s View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance explores the post-war rise of the dollar and the challenges ahead, and argues that the period of reliably low interest rates and inflation has likely ended.
Rogoff is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has long ranked among the top dozen most cited economists, and is an international grandmaster of chess.
Lunch will be provided.
Sponsored by UWM’s Lubar College of Business and The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.