Secular Stagnation and the Future of Global Macroeconomic Policy

Lawrence H. Summers discussed “Secular Stagnation and the Future of Global Macroeconomic Policy" at the Peterson Institute for International Economics on April 15, 2019. Summers, the Charles W. Eliot University Professor and president emeritus at Harvard University, argues that events of the last five years confirm that secular stagnation is real and spreading, and that fiscal not monetary policy will play the major role in stabilization policy going forward. As a result, Summers contends that the industrialized world has passed peak central bank independence, and that secular stagnation is ironically a product of the information technology revolution—supply side progress has created demand side problems.

Summers was the 71st secretary of the Treasury under the Clinton administration.  He also served as director of the White House National Economic Council in the Obama administration, as president of Harvard University, and as chief economist at the World Bank. Summers is vice chair of PIIE’s Board of Directors and a member of its Executive Committee.