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The unemployment rate is at its lowest in decades and the economy is booming, yet millions of working families are struggling to gain a foothold in the American Dream. The Aspen Institute's Ascend program catalyzes innovation from the ground up: forward-thinking community organizations, state policymakers, and philanthropists making bold partnerships to create lasting secu...
Activist investors, and active employees. Climate change and drought. Battles over trade—and by #tweet. When public anxiety drives low trust, who’s on the speed dial of top business leaders? What’s the playbook for business risks not in the company’s control? Which values are bedrock—do they illuminate the path when a bold step is needed? Join a conversation with indust...
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...
More than 6 million youth are out of school and out of work, a situation that will have dire consequences for the nation’s economy and the fate of a generation. Meanwhile, the rise of the so-called “gig economy” has fundamentally altered the landscape of modern work, giving rise to a broad new sector of part-time, self-employed, and temporary workers and with them, a new s...
In the United States, salsa outsells ketchup as the No. 1 condiment on our tables. In the summer of 2017, the Spanish-English pop song sensation “Despacito” performed by Puerto Rican Luis Fonsi broke records as the most-viewed music video online. The American Latino is a powerful consumer group, representing $2.13 trillion in GDP. If their economic might were represented a...
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?...
Private equity firms are using leveraged buyouts, venture capital, and other funding sources to acquire hospitals, clinical practices, nursing homes, and other health-related businesses on a grand scale. In 2021, they poured more than $200 billion into the sector, compared to $41 billion in 2010. Investors claim their capital will expand access to care, drive innovation, f...
The US is aging – between 2012 and 2050, the number of adults over age 60 will jump from 43 to 84 million, representing about 20 percent of the population. Meanwhile, smaller and more scattered families will mean greater numbers of people growing old alone. Fostering the social connections and cross-generational interactions that are so essential to healthy aging has becom...
The United States health system falls short, bluntly declares the Commonwealth Fund in its recent report, “Mirror, Mirror 2017: International Comparison Reflects Flaws and Opportunities for Better US Health Care.” The study compares the US to ten other high-income countries. The US is by far the top spender, but sinks to the bottom when it comes to measures of outcome, acc...
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...
World order is never in stasis for too long. And indeed, we seem to be witnessing a historic shift now. The relatively stable decades after World War II saw gains for global democracies, rapid economic growth fueled by globalization, and the birth of the Internet. But they also saw the speeding of global warming, widening inequality, and the scourge of transnational terror...
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...
Stuart Weitzman is one of America’s most famous shoe designers, known for outfitting countless celebrities (think Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Kate Moss) but — perhaps more importantly — women across the globe who aspire to quality, class, and style. Here, he shares the lessons of his entrepreneurial adventure — which concluded with the 2015 sale of the company for $574 mil...
The Affordable Care Act became law because five congressional leaders made it happen. These committee chairs — two from the US Senate, three from the House of Representatives — share the stage to talk about the passage, impact, and future of the ACA. As the law’s key architects, all five bring insider knowledge of the maneuvering, negotiation, and compromise that led to it...
Dick Metcalf has been shooting since kindergarten, a member of the NRA since middle school. He’s been studying, writing, and teaching about firearms for over 40 years. But Metcalf’s long career as a columnist with Guns & Ammo magazine came to an abrupt halt in late 2013 after he penned a column that explored the line between firearm regulation and Second Amendment infring...
Known for her groundbreaking initiatives and bold leadership, GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra was the first leader of a legacy U.S. automaker to pledge to make all cars and SUVs electric by 2035, laying down the gauntlet for her competitors. With partnerships recently announced with Tesla to provide access to more EV chargers across the country, what does the future hold for c...
If the 20 years from 1995 to 2015 were shaped in significant measure by digitization and the rise of the Internet, what’s next? What will define the next decade? Drawing from his highly-praised New York Times best-seller The Industries of the Future, Alec Ross provides a view into the forces that will carve tomorrow’s economy and the difficult, necessary steps that must be...
After decades with no significant geopolitical rivals, the United States now faces the emergence of China as a major adversary. How will this change the landscape of the emerging world order? What new forms of geopolitical conflict will arise, and what new forms of cooperation are necessary?
By 2055, it is estimated that 50 percent of today’s work activities will be automated. This means that some work will be automated within certain professions, while other professions may completely cease to exist. It means a glaring need for new jobs and a new conception of “work.” It means reorganized industries and reorganized landscapes. What else does it mean? Which jo...
Most of us know the entrepreneurial success stories of places like Silicon Valley, the Research Triangle, and Boston. But if great ideas are everywhere, why aren’t entrepreneurial businesses thriving worldwide, in places large and small? What can we do to promote entrepreneurship in unusual places, and make sure the prosperity-creating and problem-solving power of entrepre...