More than four years after the onset of the global financial crisis, much of the global economy remains mired in low growth and high unemployment. At the same time, economists’ spectacular failure to foresee crucial developments – from the collapse of the US housing market to the duration and depth of the Great Recession – has powerfully undermined the discipline’s models and assumptions. Amid mounting uncertainty – and rising inequality – many are beginning to question whether modern capitalism is sustainable, or even desirable. In a new collection of articles, written exclusively for Project Syndicate, leading economists assess their field’s future, and consider market-based capitalism’s prospects in the post-crisis world.
More than four years after the onset of the global financial crisis, much of the global economy remains mired in low growth and high unemployment. At the same time, economists’ spectacular failure to foresee crucial developments – from the collapse of the US housing market to the duration and depth of the Great Recession – has powerfully undermined the discipline’s models and assumptions. Amid mounting uncertainty – and rising inequality – many are beginning to question whether modern capitalism is sustainable, or even desirable. In a new collection of articles, written exclusively for Project Syndicate, leading economists assess their field’s future, and consider market-based capitalism’s prospects in the post-crisis world.