Explore
Search results
![Economic Envy? The Real State of the American Economy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/35590916-0e61-4c37-b00d-896024fd6557/53819467536_b957e4504c_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1315%2C0%2C3673%2C3674&w=290)
The market is at record highs. Unemployment is at record lows. And most economists will tell you the American economy is the envy of the world — but far too many working families need more to get by. What do the trends on mortgages, consumer behavior and lending tell us about America’s economic future?
![Is the Economy as Good as It Looks?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullee065bca-04b9-4c04-bd75-5a762c174d78/48138907246_3128df6d48_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=683%2C0%2C2633%2C2633&w=290)
The state of the U.S. economy is of critical importance to all Americans and sure to be a major issue in the 2020 presidential election. On its face, the economy appears strong – high growth, low unemployment, low interest rates, and little inflation. But beneath the surface worrying trends lurk. Many Americans continue to be left behind. Markets are signaling a high chanc...
![What’s Next for the Economy?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/337ef3d1-54d5-4595-b33d-0276c993d6f7/53009134143_b8202c158d_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=903%2C0%2C3670%2C3670&w=290)
Economic uncertainty continues its reign of confusion, vexing financial leaders, regulators, and consumers with worrisome inflation and unpredictable markets. Experts weigh in on whether we can avoid a recession, what today’s banking and political difficulties signal about the future of lending and saving, and how workplace developments, A.I. advances, and complex geopolit...
![New Ways to Measure Our Economy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6029a26e-2d91-4455-802c-243ee37b5a3d/52185088183_01e647db1b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=923%2C0%2C3884%2C3884&w=290)
How do we know the real effect of inflation on the buying power of individuals in the United States? Unless we change the way we analyze data and evaluate key economic indicators, we will not have an accurate picture of the health of our economy, according to Eugene Ludwig, a leader in finance and former comptroller of the currency. Ludwig is joined by two panelists on opp...
![The Future of the Creative Economy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9c57382a-f4e1-4491-b12a-c9aa9e1064e2/AdobeStock_352220592.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1012%2C0%2C4024%2C4024&w=290)
If you’ve ever taken a yoga class or learned a new recipe on YouTube, you have helped fuel the creator economy: the hundreds of thousands of creative people who make their living teaching, guiding, and entertaining the rest of us. During this session, YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl will discuss the rise of the creator economy and finding success online with tw...
![Where the Economy, and the World, Are Headed](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d8986ff4-a47f-46fc-be37-9b4ce958b80b/53821150470_57bfabf5b6_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1165%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
If you want to know where the economy is headed, ask an economist. If you want to know why (and more), ask a treasury secretary, an economic diplomat, a director of the National Economic Council and the president of Harvard. Larry Summers has been all of those things (and more).
![(Re)Building the Economy? Invest in Women](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/f87f6d1d-50a3-42ea-9ea0-c910fd2f02ad/52184729338_767dfc3f4c_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=837%2C0%2C3545%2C3545&w=290)
It’s no secret that money in the hands of women is money well taken care of — with copious evidence to prove it. The question is how to get more money into those hands, especially now. An estimated 1.2 million women left the workforce between 2020 and 2022 — thanks largely to the pandemic’s demand for caretakers at home — effecting an enormous economic setback for women an...
![Resetting U.S.'s Role in the Global Economy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9234ca34-2cce-4e51-b1ed-eb9963dee42e/plenary3-video-thumbnail.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=420%2C0%2C1080%2C1080&w=290)
Click the pink button above to start the video. The pendulum of American foreign engagement has swung between isolationism and internationalism before. But with four years of “America First” brought to a halt by the election of Joe Biden, never has it swung back so quickly. On top of that, a global pandemic has forced the world to recognize our interconnectedness: What sta...
![The Global Economy: A Delicate Moment](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null3fd15a10-1bc1-4fa2-a5db-cc74499405b7/48145926216_ea8e59202b_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=266%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=290)
In 2018, economic activity was accelerating in almost all regions of the world. One year later, much has changed. The escalation of US-China trade tensions, credit tightening in China, and macroeconomic stress in key G20 economies have all contributed to a weakened global expansion. As the US trade war with China deepens, what are the biggest risks at this delicate moment?...
![Living in the Surveillance Economy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null7cb6e683-00fe-4fe5-9652-7f9356d3cfed/35461006201_c35135300b_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=266%2C0%2C1068%2C1068&w=290)
From smartphones transmitting our location to ads following us as we browse the web to home appliances and devices watching us in our own homes, we live in an age of ubiquitous surveillance. And our data is not our own. How should big companies be accountable? What are our rights? And what should our rights be? Is monetized data extraction — also known as surveillance capi...
![Inflation and the Economy: How Bad is This Going to Get?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ace3cbef-d10b-464c-b674-7dc67a3989a1/52184063748_17c2769042_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1808%2C0%2C4640%2C4640&w=290)
Inflation has reached heights not seen in four decades. While the Russia–Ukraine conflict has played a role, prices were already marching upward as the nation emerged from COVID lockdowns. Gasoline prices are at all-time highs, and many other items are registering double digit increases. Inflation pushed the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected, lea...
![Are We in An Economic Bubble?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/475771fe-6510-4eaa-b6a3-57859ae013bf/42205927115_70af5e8e20_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=467%2C0%2C2065%2C2065&w=290)
Will the boom in asset prices come to an end, and should it? How spectacular will the correction be? Will tax cuts boost the economy, leading us to better returns, or should we be more cautious investors? Significant investors share their perspectives with the managing editor of The Financial Times.
![Meet the Disruptors: Paving a Path to a New Economy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a7e95653-aac6-44a3-a448-ef21deedc5fa/53010382997_75901e0736_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1000%2C0%2C4000%2C4000&w=290)
Meet three disruptive business leaders — all part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network — who drive significant economic value by leveraging emerging technologies to create sustainable, inclusive, and efficient business models in drug delivery, banking, and community-focused finance. Putting values-based leadership first, they address societal needs and drive economic gro...
![Latinos: The Strongest Drivers of the US Economy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nulld646cb41-5857-4e4a-a023-1a95321caaa4/28004289606_bc83c6ac2a_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=266%2C0%2C1068%2C1068&w=290)
The economic prosperity of the United States of tomorrow depends in large part on how we invest in human capital today. It’s not news that to continue to compete, we need a workforce that is better educated, more technology-driven, and global. Who will be the engines of future economic growth and what are we doing to capitalize on their momentum? While much attention is be...
![Navigating Tomorrow’s Economy (Part 1 and Part 2)](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6174eb00-1e5e-4da8-acfb-8b85be903d4b/53822186869_5287ac99ed_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=2000%2C0%2C4000%2C4000&w=290)
![Small Business in America: The Engine of our Economy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ea3eec41-fe8f-466a-8edd-4e0eb1b8df6e/52182727090_1593ca9502_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=959%2C0%2C3695%2C3695&w=290)
The pandemic wreaked havoc on firms across the US, and the smaller businesses that actually comprise the majority of economic enterprises were hit hardest. There are 31.7 million small businesses around the country, comprising 99.9 percent of all companies and employing over half of the American workforce. And the challenges they have faced from the pandemic and its ongoin...
![How the Deck Is Stacked: Jobs, the Economy, and the Election](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullfac24e83-b256-4c1e-b52c-76b1cbc428f1/27684532810_192eef2461_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=266%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=290)
As the 2016 presidential election approaches, the economy is a tale of two realities. On one hand, employment numbers, housing prices, and corporate profits have rebounded substantially since President Obama took office nearly eight years ago at the height of the financial crisis. At the same time, the nature of work is shifting, leaving many behind, long term unemployment...
![Can Entrepreneurs Save the American Economy?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9eb9b952-561b-4bb7-b753-6d35c0b420c3/34782519263_92a42dc756_o1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1000%2C0%2C4016%2C4016&w=290)
America has always meant business. We’re a nation of self-starters, strivers, and entrepreneurs — with the courage to take big risks and the confidence to determine our own destiny. Entrepreneurs are seen as the beating heart of our economy, generating the jobs, wealth, and innovation that keep the American Dream alive. But what are the conditions that small businesses nee...
![What It Takes to Be Competitive in the 21st Century Economy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null9b37ee00-6b9f-47a8-9a60-ff6731cd71c7/27758392090_f58369de36_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C266%2C1068%2C1068&w=290)
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker joins Walter Isaacson to discuss the opportunities for growth inherent in the digital economy, as well as the challenges they present for both governments and businesses. How are we to make sense of the tectonic changes taking place in our labor markets? How can we ensure that our workforce will have the skills they need to succeed? Hav...
![Do Economic Sanctions Work?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e987fc14-ffb0-45b8-831f-559c26a3fdf7/aif-2022-sanctions.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=400%2C0%2C800%2C800&w=290)
Most of the tactics that allies are employing to stem Putin’s aggressions in Ukraine are economic in nature: oil and gas embargoes, severe international banking restrictions, shutdowns of foreign business operations, and more — all with the objective of crippling aspects of Russia’s economy. But will they work? Is handcuffing a country’s economy an effective way to counter...