The Role of Economics and Economists in Public Policy and Public Debate

This conference examined how economists engage with different groups of people. Topics included sessions on how they influence public policy and public opinion, teaching approaches, evidence-based policy-making, the debate over the causes and consequences of inequality and an analysis of the responses to the experts panels that are run by the Initiative on Global Markets.

Attendance was by invitation only.

Program

Thursday, April 28, 2022

 
 12:00–1:00pm

Opening Lunch

 1:00–2:00pm

Keynote Address

Alan Blinder (Princeton University)
Introduction: Anil Kashyap (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

 
 2:15–3:30pm

Trust in Experts, Commonality and Differences: Policy Views of European and US Economists

Luigi Guiso (Einaudi Institute)
Michael Weber (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

Moderator: Sarah Smith (University of Bristol)

 
 4:00–5:15pm

Differences in Public and Expert Opinions About Environmental Policy

William Nordhaus (Yale University)
Douglas Rivers (Stanford University)

Moderator: Beata Javorcik (Oxford University)

 
 5:30–6:30pm

Conveying Conventional Wisdom in the Classroom – panel

Wendy Carlin (University College London)
Paul Krugman (City University of New York)

Moderator: Austan Goolsbee (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

 
 7pm

Dinner

 
 

Friday, April 29, 2022

 

 
 8:30–9:30am

Causes, Consequences, and Policy Responses to Inequality

Daron Acemoglu (MIT)
Penny Goldberg (Yale University)

Moderator: Steven Kaplan (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

 
 9:45–10:45am

The Role of Economists in Evidence-based Policymaking – panel

Agnès Bénassy-Quéré (Paris School of Economics)
Richard Thaler (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

Moderator: Christian Leuz (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

 
 11:00–12:00pm

The Challenges for the Media in Covering COVID, Monetary Policy, and the Labor Market

Chris Giles (Financial Times)
 Neil Irwin (Axios)
 Heather Long (Washington Post)

Moderator: Romesh Vaitilingam (IGM, VoxEU/CEPR, Economics Observatory)

 
 12:00pm Lunch

Date & Location

The conference will take place on April 28th and 29th, 2022.

The conference will take place at the Gleacher Center (450 Cityfront Plaza Drive, Chicago, IL 60611)

Organizers

Anil K Kashyap, Stevens Distinguished Service Professor of Economics and Finance (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

Christian Leuz, Joseph Sondheimer Professor of International Economics, Finance, and Accounting (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

Romesh Vaitilingam, Writer & Media Consultant (Vox)

 

For questions or additional information, contact Peggy Eppink.