Sustainable Growth and Shared Prosperity

Takeaways from the Harvard Kennedy School IDEASpHERE discussion “Sustainable Growth and Shared Prosperity,” with Kenneth Rogoff and Lawrence Summers

Sampling of Notable Thoughts

“Inequality represents income that could be going to help middle class and poor people, and isn’t.” – Lawrence Summers

“To suggest that somehow during these last five years we’ve been uniquely and dangerously gridlocked is, I think, rather an overstatement of the problem.” – Lawrence Summers

“I would rather that we not debate whether the rich are evil, or class warfare, or good or bad, or left or right, but ‘What are sensible policies that will reduce inequality without doing much damage to growth?’” – Jeffrey Frankel

Summary

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers joined economics professors Jeffrey Frankel and Kenneth Rogoff for an IDEASpHERE discussion on “Sustainable Growth and Shared Prosperity.”

The three economists engaged in an exchange of ideas on how to promote inclusive prosperity in the U.S., which touched on a variety of topics like taxes, education, and the influence of money on politics.

Noting the present need for people to more frequently reinvent themselves to remain competitive in the job market, Rogoff stressed the need for expanding education opportunities for adults.

Frankel emphasized the need to promote policies that would reduce inequality while not hurting growth. As examples, he included universal preschool education, a return to previous enforcement of the estate tax, and expanding earned income tax credits.

Throughout the event, which included several questions from attendees, Summers delved into some of the nuances and distortions surrounding money in politics and economic policy, while affirming that he ultimately wished to see “a society where low-income people see incomes grow as rapidly as possible.”