Tyler Cowen, Michael Strain, Catherine Tucker, & Dietrich Vollrath: Is the great stagnation over?

Since the early 1970s, Americans have seen disappointing levels of economic growth and technological progress. But the potential of artificial intelligence, gene editing, blockchain technology, clean energy, and many more innovations on the horizon provide great reason to be optimistic about the future of the US economy. I recently discussed this potential in a recent AEI online panel discussion, which I now present in podcast form. Tyler Cowen is the Holbert L. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University, and he serves as chairman and faculty director of the Mercatus Center. He is the author of several books, including 2011’s The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All The Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better. Michael Strain is the director of economic policy studies here at AEI, as well as the Arthur F. Burns scholar in political economy. And he’s the author of The American Dream is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It), released last year. Catherine Tucker is the Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management Science and Professor of Marketing at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She is also a cofounder of the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab and a co-organizer of the Economics of Artificial Intelligence intiative. And Dietrich Vollrath is a professor of economics and the chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Houston. He is also the author of Fully Grown: Why a Stagnant Economy is a Sign of Success, released last April.