Economists Agree To Disagree On Causes Of Economic Stagnation

Last week, I spoke at the National Association of Business Economists Los Angeles chapter event entitled “Rebuilding the American Dream.” This was a particularly exciting presentation for me as it is a rarity that I get to speak to a group of professionals with similar training and background. Yes, 30 economists all in a room together! Only other economists may appreciate that. And it’s true that rarely do economists agree, hence the great debate that we had.

Will suffering homeownership rate exacerbate economic stagnation and reduce economic mobility?

The presentation I gave was broken into two parts. First, a discussion of the “second machine age,” particularly the debate about the implications for automation, technological innovation and artificial intelligence on economic stagnation and mobility. The second part focused on the health of the housing market in the face of economic stagnation. If wages don’t grow, is homeownership going to suffer? Or more importantly, will suffering homeownership exacerbate economic stagnation and reduce economic mobility?

nabe-cover

As you can imagine, there was a wide variety of views debated, which reflects the broader debate we see among economists, politicians, and even presidential hopefuls today. It’s also clear that the debate is far from over and the debate will not be isolated to a bunch of economists in a meeting room. The consequences are far too important to far too many.

If you are interested in seeing the presentation, click the download link below.