puzzle graphicEconomics and economic policy are in flux

Prevailing policy mindsets have not only failed to produce robust economic growth, but have also resulted in increased inequality and economic insecurity. Societies are hostage to financial crises, the advance of climate change, and a lack of good jobs. When unexpected shocks hit, the vulnerabilities of the disadvantaged are further compounded.

We aim to piece together a range of ideas, disciplinary thinking, and perspectives to produce multidisciplinary scholarship that reshapes narratives about how we achieve inclusive prosperity.

Piecing together a complex puzzle

Reimagining the Economy is an economics-centered, but multidisciplinary initiative. We use the theoretical and empirical tools of economics, but are also informed and enriched by the thinking in other disciplines. Our ultimate goal is to go beyond the analysis of how our current economy works (or doesn’t) to piece together new structures, governance mechanisms, and forms of market economy and capitalism. We combine analyses of existing arrangements with an examination of alternative designs for market institutions. We undertake studies of economic transformation at all levels: local, regional, national, and global. And we attempt to bring together analyses of the range of public inputs that generate inclusive prosperity – from finance and firm support to workforce development.

Featured Work

Enhancing productivity in labor-absorbing services must be an essential priority, for reasons of both growth and equity. Dani Rodrik and Rohan Sandhu provide a broad overview of what such a strategy might look like. 

Servicing Development

A considerable literature that has developed in recent years providing rigorous evidence on how industrial policies work. Dani Rodrik, along with  Nathan Lane and Réka Juhász review the standard rationales and critiques of industrial policy and provide an overview of new approaches to measurement

The New Economics of Industrial Policy

Society’s transition toward more sustainable energy sources is well underway. But substantially reducing the use of fossil fuels will profoundly disrupt the communities that currently dedicate themselves to carbon-intensive industries. Gordon Hanson writes for the Aspen Economic Strategy Group.

Local Labor Market Impacts of the Energy Transition

The success of Bidenomics will depend on local action. Rohan Sandhu unpacks the regional ecosystems and capacity constraints at the heart of the Biden administration's place-based policies.

Bottom Up Bidenomics

Economic policy needs to be guided by an overall animating vision. Dani Rodrik describes an approach he calls "productivism," which prioritizes the dissemination of productive economic opportunities throughout all regions of the economy and segments of the labor force.

On Productivism

 

News & Highlights

Preparing for the Second China Shock
The New York Times, May 14, 2024
Featured: Gordon Hanson

To Fight Inequality, America Needs to Rethink Its Economic Model
Time, May 14, 2024
Featured: Dani Rodrik

Biden Looks Poised to Dethrone ‘Tariff Man’ Trump
Bloomberg, May 13, 2024
Featured: Gordon Hanson

Dani Rodrik: Doing industrial policy right 
Financial Times, February 9, 2024

Trump’s Tariffs Hurt U.S. Jobs but Swayed American Voters, Study Says
New York Times, February 2, 2024

America’s social ills are not simply due to inequality and despair
Washington Post, January 25, 2024

Industrial policy for economic development
VoxDevTalk, January 17, 2024
Featured: Dani Rodrik

Confronting Our Four Biggest Economic Challenges
Project Syndicate, January 9, 2024
Featured: Dani Rodrik

Place-based policies and development
VoxDevTalk, January 10, 2024
Featured: Gordon Hanson

We can tackle climate change, jobs, growth and global trade. Here’s what’s stopping us
Market Watch, January 10, 2024
Featured: Dani Rodrik

Preparing for the Energy Transition
Harvard Magazine, November-December, 2023

Dani Rodrik Says More...
Project Syndicate, October 10, 2023

China’s Factory Floor Is Moving—But Not to India or Mexico
The Wall Street Journal, October 7, 2023

This Part of Bidenomics Needs More Economics
The Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2023

The Energy Transition Is Underway. Fossil Fuel Workers Could Be Left Behind
New York Times, July 12, 2023

Transitioning to clean power without workers absorbing the shock
HKS PolicyCast, April 6, 2023

The Reimagining the Economy project aims to help build an economy at once productive and inclusive
Harvard Kennedy School, October 31, 2022

Why Services Need an Industrial Policy
Project Syndicate, October 12, 2022

The new rules for business in a post-neoliberal world
Financial Times, October 9, 2022

He predicted globalization's failure, now he’s planning what’s next
HKS PolicyCast, June 30, 2022

Wanted: New economic models for a post-globalization world
Harvard Kennedy School, February 16, 2022