Ailing media and public policymaking: something must be done

January 29th, 2009 6:26pm

One of the central themes in discussions about the global economic crisis is that we need more checks and balances, both at the national and the world levels, in order for capitalism to work effectively to enhance human well-being.

Reflecting the widespread political sentiment in the United States, it would appear that just about everyone at the World Economic Forum embraces the need for greater, more far-reaching government regulation of economic activity.  Making that consensus concrete will, of course, be enormously complicated, and contentious, perhaps mirroring the revolutionary changes in public regulation of private activity that defined the New Deal era.  Right now there is a kind of soothing collective agreement that “something must be done”. Continue reading "Ailing media and public policymaking: something must be done"

Can we change the behaviour of the American consumer?

January 29th, 2009 10:02am

Often the measure of a meeting is what is not said or spoken. And there is one very significant issue lurking in the current economic crisis that I doubt will be addressed at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

That issue is whether the public policy response to the crisis will take into account the need to bring about a fundamental change in the behaviour of the American consumer, most notably the problem of excessive consumption (or insufficient savings). Continue reading "Can we change the behaviour of the American consumer?"