JANUARY 26, 2023, 4:00 PM –5:00 PM EST
World Bank Main Complex MC13-121 | 1818 H Street NW Washington, DC
Alan Blinder on Reducing the Gap between Policies and Politics
Alan Blinder on Reducing the Gap between Policies and Politics.
World Bank Governance Global Practice Book Talks welcomes Professor Alan Blinder who will present the main findings from two recent books ("Advice and Dissent" and "A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States"). His findings are particularly relevant in the context of expected recession in 2023 in several countries, continued inflation in others and restricted fiscal space in most. This challenging scenario demands hard policy choices from politicians, ranging from subsidies cuts to tax and pension reforms and massive expenditure reductions. Blinder offers us a view of how to arrive at sound policies needed to tackle increasingly complex challenges by narrowing the gap between what politicians want, and what experts recommend. This is an in-person event only. Tea sandwiches and cookies will be served.
The Governance Global Practice Book Talks presents recent books by leading global experts. These books were written for a broad audience and cover public policy areas that are relevant for Governance and beyond. This event is joint with the EFI Chief Economist Office.
About the books:
In Advice and Dissent, Professor Blinder acknowledges that economists and politicians often talk— and act — at cross purposes: politicians typically seek economists’ “advice” only to support preconceived notions, not to learn what economists actually know or believe. Politicians naturally worry about keeping constituents happy and winning elections. Some are devoted to an ideology. Economists sometimes overlook the real human costs of what may seem to be the obviously best policy — to a calculating machine. In “Advice and Dissent”, Blinder shows how both sides can shrink the yawning gap between good politics and good economics and encourage the hardheaded but softhearted policies our countries so desperately need.
In his talk, Professor Binder will also draw from his book “A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States”. His work traces the highs and lows of monetary and fiscal policy, which have by turns cooperated and clashed through many recessions and several long booms over the past six decades. In this talk, he will focus on recent events—including the 2008 financial crisis, the Great Recession, and monetary policy during COVID-19, offering insights to the current global challenges.
