50 Terrific Talks on the Future of the Economy

The current state of the economy has everyone worried and guessing about the future. Luckily, you can rely on experts in the field of economics to share their experience and scholarship to enlighten you on what may happen in the future. From understanding the current crisis and what direction it may take to such topics as the future of banking or risk management to entrepreneurship, green economics, and international economics, these talks will help you understand what you might expect for the future.

The Financial Crisis

Learn about the many causes of the current financial crisis and what the future may look like after recovery with these talks.

1. Origins of the Financial Mess. Alan Blinder details the causes of the current financial crisis and what should be done for the future. [Princeton]
2. Observations on the Science of Finance in the Practice of Finance. Robert C. Merton describes how derivatives played a role in the current economic crisis and how some financial innovations during the collapse may be key to reviving the current economic condition. [MIT]
3. The Mortgage Meltdown, the Economy, and Public Policy (Part 1). Learn about what precipitated the mortgage meltdown and hear from panelists to learn what the future of housing finance may look like. [UC Berkeley]
4. The Mortgage Meltdown, the Economy, and Public Policy (Part 5). Listen in as these panelists discuss mortgage innovations and the regulation of investment banks in the wake of the mortgage meltdown. [UC Berkeley]
5. George Soros on The New Paradigm for Financial Markets. George Soros and Ricardo Caballero discuss financial bubbles and human nature to characterize what lead to the current crisis and how these trends will affect the future. [MIT]
6. Financial Crises. This five-part lecture series is given by an influential group of economists and political analysts and describes the roots, results, and recommended solutions for the current financial crises. [Princeton]
7. Financial crises and risk management. Didier Sornette discusses how financial crises such as stock market crashes can be predicted months and years ahead of time and discusses his recent research and what it means for the future. [ETH Zurich]
8. Okun Lecture: Learning from and Responding to Financial Crisis, Part I. Lawrence Summers lectures on how economic growth has moved from one controlled by monetary authorities to one controlled by events from within the financial systems. [Yale]
9. Okun Lecture: Learning from and Responding to Financial Crisis, Part II. The second part of this lecture series continues with a look at the effects of the subprime crisis on the economy and what financial institutions should do to help rectify the situation. [Yale]
10. The Financial Crisis: Implications for Washington, Wall Street and Main Street. Tune in here to learn what a panel of experts from Cornell said about the financial crisis and what they see as ways out of the crisis. [Cornell]
11. Higher Education and the Recession. Learn about the impact of the recession and the the world of higher education on the economy in the Cornell area. [Cornell]
12. Understanding the Crisis in the Markets: A Panel of Harvard Experts. These scholars describe developments in the US and world markets in this panel discussion. [Harvard]

Banking, Technology, and Risk Management

Listen to these lectures to learn about the role of banking, technology, and risk management in current and future economic affairs.

13. Financial Services: Prospects for Your Future. Simon Johnson and Lawrence Fish discuss the economic crisis from the perspective of banking. Discover why some banks failed while banks in other countries, such as Canada, did not fail and what it all means for the future of the banking industry. [MIT]
14. Technology and Invention in Finance. Robert Shiller teaches how such elements as technology, insurance contracts, and Social Security influence financial markets and investment risk. [Yale]
15. Critical Issues and Grand Challenges. This panel of four speakers focus on finance, health care, energy, and technology to describe how they see future unfolding. [MIT]
16. The New Role of Risk Management: Rebuilding the Model. Listen to this discussion about risk, risk management, and how to approach the future of risk management after the events of the current financial crisis by relying on data. [University of Pennsylvania]

Management, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship

Good leaders will want to stay on top of the future, so listen to what these people have to say about thinking ahead, weathering economic crises, and exploring possibilities for strong economic choices of the future.

17. Innovative Leadership during Economic Crisis. Emmanuel Maceda talks about how the innovative leadership that guides organizations through good times should maintain those innovative practices to weather the difficult times. He uses Bain & Company, a leading management consulting firm, as an example of how this idea plays out. [MIT]
18. Entrepreneurship and Free, Prosperous Society. Jack Leslie talks about emerging economies and entrepreneurship as well as his beliefs that freedom and prosperity arise from entrepreneurial spirit. [Stanford]
19. Understanding the 21st Century Consumer. Janice Roberts describes how venture capitalists are beginning to invest in companies that embrace the understanding of the new consumer who wants to participate in and influence technology. [Stanford]
20. Economics of Free: A New Business Model. Learn about the new business model that gives services to customers for free while depending on advertising for income. [Stanford]
21. Trends in Venture Capital Interest. Beth Seidenberg discusses the future of VC investing including iPhone apps, green technology, medical innovations, and global initiatives. [Stanford]
22. Education, Discretionary Power and Emerging Entrepreneurial Societies. Pedro Aspe discusses removing discretionary power of finance and economics from government officials in order to encourage a reliable system, which is necessary for an entrepreneurial society. [Stanford]

The Green Economy

Sustainability and the economy are closely tied, so tune in to these talks to learn how the future of the green economy may look.

23. Closing Plenary: Where Do We Go From Here?. Listen to this closing meeting on a conference from May 2009 that focused on effecting climate change policies during poor economic times. [UC Berkeley]
24. The Thriving Green Economy. Entrepreneurs Jesse Fink and Steve Blank discuss why green investing is not only good for the environment, but a smart business choice and an opportunity to fuel the economy. [Stanford]
25. European Advances in Green Energy. Learn how Europe is getting green energy right, and why David Rothkopf thinks the US may adapt these same policies despite currently being guided by greed. [Stanford]
26. The Economics of Climate Change. Consider the impact of climate change on policy and economics for years to come with this lecture. [UC Berkeley]
27. Channeling Solar Energy Demand. Learn about the potential for businesses in the solar energy field and hear financial numbers to illustrate the high demand for solar energy. [Stanford]
28. Do Something Meaningful. Martin Eberhard discusses the economic problem of oil consumption and his decision to provide a solution to this problem through developing electric cars. [Stanford]
29. Debt-for-Nature. Listen as Peter Seligmann describes how conservation groups will buy debt from countries in exchange for conservation measures within that country. [Stanford]

International Economics

The American economy is definitely tied to the global economy, so learn about these connections, the future of developing economies, and ways to create strong economic relationships for the future.

30. Challenges to the Global Economy. This talk given in early 2009 by two distinguished speakers describes the depth and breadth of the current economic crisis–and it doesn’t look hopeful. Learn the global repercussions of the current crisis and what countries may weather the storm best. [MIT]
31. The U.S. and the World’s Recession. This professor of economics from Sloan School of Management explains the correlation between the price of wheat and inflation and the price of oil and inflation while describing how food and energy play an important role in the economy, how they are excluded from calculation of "core inflation," and what should be done in the future. [MIT]
32. Building the Humane Economy in an Age of Bailouts. Peter Koslowski, professor at Free University Amsterdam, discusses bailouts, including avoiding bankruptcy, and how they affect the global economy. [The Catholic University of America]
33. Entrepreneurship, Government, and Development in Africa. Listen to John Kufuor, President of Ghana for two terms, discuss how Ghana went from its bloody, dark past to a country with huge economic growth, sound economic policies, a fortified educational system, and a national health plan for all citizens. Ghana serves as a role model not only for other developing countries, but those more developed suffering under current economic strains. [MIT]
34. Ending Global Poverty. Learn about microlending and how it can make a huge impact not only on individual lives, but an entire economic system. [MIT]
35. Alex Tabarrok on how ideas trump crises. Learn how this economist believes free-trade and globalization have united the world and opened up channels of idea-sharing. [TED]
36. Toward India 2020: Challenges and Opportunities. Montek Singh Ahluwalia discusses how he sees India rising out of poverty by 2020 through sustained economic growth. India has weathered the current economic crisis so far and looks to be on Ahluwalia’s projected path. [MIT]
37. Global and Domestic Imbalances: Why Rural China is the Key. Listen to this lecture given by Yasheng Huang to learn about the impact of rural Chinese peasants on the current success of China’s economy and why the future of that economy and its impact on the global economy rests with these same people. [MIT]
38. Paul Collier on the "bottom billion". Listen to Collier’s plan to create a compassionate and effective way to bridge the global gap between rich and poor. [TED]
39. Understanding the Overseas Investment Market. Get a grasp of the details involved with international investing, including understanding such issues as rural vs. urban investing. [Stanford]
40. Shaping China’s Choices. Thomas Christensen discusses the relations between China, Japan, India, and the US and how these positive relationships have influenced China’s policy choices in economics and diplomacy and how to continue to encourage this trend. [Princeton]
41. Jacqueline Novogratz: A third way to think about aid. Novogratz discusses engaging citizens of developing countries in entrepreneurship in order to pull them out of poverty–also solving the conflict between disparate approaches to helping the poor. [TED]
42. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on aid versus trade. The former Finance Minister of Nigeria discusses the current platform from which Africa now has to work toward a successful economic future. [TED]

Speculation on the Future

These talks all offer an expert’s opinion on what the future of economics may be like, including both frightening and hopeful outlooks.

43. The Coming Generational Storm: What You Need to Know about America’s Economic Future. Laurence Kotlikoff talks about the poor state of Social Security and why Baby Boomers need to be nice to their children. Watch this video to learn why the children of Boomers may be left paying for political negligence. [MIT]
44. One War We Shouldn’t Avoid: A New Approach to Reducing the Cost of Future Catastrophes. Listen to this podcast that explores the financial repercussions of catastrophic weather events and what approaches should be taken to prevent future economic impacts. [University of Pennsylvania]
45. Jeremy Siegel: ‘The Market Will Stage Another Recovery’. Professor Jeremy Siegel talks about how rising commodity prices, oil, and interest rates are spurring the economy forward. [University of Pennsylvania]
46. A Thought for Tax Day: The Real Fiscal Crisis Is Yet to Come. The stance of this lecture is that in addition to raising taxes, the government will have to reduce Medicare and Social Security benefits in order to pull the country out of the outrageous debt it currently faces. [University of Pennsylvania]
47. Paul Romer’s radical idea: Charter cities. This economist explores bad rules that force people into poverty and advocates his idea of "charter cities" run by a coalition of nations. [TED]
48. 2008 Agribusiness Economic Outlook Conference, Part 1. Learn what was said about the outlook for agricultural markets and the economy in general at this conference. [Cornell]
49. 2008 Agribusiness Economic Outlook Conference, Part 2. A continuation from the conference, this part explores the recent demand for local foods as well as opportunities in more distant markets. [Cornell]
50. Juan Enriquez shares mindboggling science. Enriquez looks at the current state of the economy and how science is the key to economic recovery in his humorous talk. [TED]