Conference 

December 4, 2014 9:00AM 
Add to Calendar

- [Google](http://www.google.com/calendar/render?cid=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cato.org%2Fnode%2F54090%2Ffield_date_range%2Faddtocal.ics)
- [Yahoo](/node/54090/field_date_range/addtocal.ics)
- [iCalendar](/node/54090/field_date_range/addtocal.ics)
- [Outlook](/node/54090/field_date_range/addtocal.ics)

Hayek Auditorium 

Featuring **Brink Lindsey**, Vice President for Research, Cato Institute; **Erik Brynjolfsson**, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; **Edward Glaeser**, Harvard University; **Robert Gordon**, Northwestern University; **Dale Jorgenson**, Harvard University; and **Edmund Phelps**, Columbia University.

The Great Recession ended over five years ago, so why does the U.S. economy remain so sluggish? Fears are mounting that growth rates well below the long-term historical trend line may now be the “new normal.” Labor-force participation has been falling, while growth in labor skills has slowed considerably. Furthermore, the main engine of innovation—the “creative destruction” of entrepreneurial dynamism—appears to be sputtering, as the rates of both gross job creation and destruction and new firm formation have been declining steadily. Meanwhile, some experts even argue that the low-hanging fruit of major transformative breakthroughs has already been plucked and that, consequently, technological progress itself is winding down.

The purpose of this conference is to assess the long-term growth outlook of the U.S. economy and explore what policy changes might be needed to arrest and reverse the growth slowdown. We will bring together top economists and other experts for a full-day conference on these vital issues, with the first three sessions devoted to diagnosis of the key problems and the final two sessions focused on prescriptions for growth-enhancing policy reforms.

In conjunction with the conference, the Cato Institute is hosting [a special online forum on reviving economic growth](https://www.cato.org/conference-forum/reviving-economic-growth). We have reached out to leading economists and policy experts and challenged them to answer the following question: “If you could wave a magic wand and make one or two policy or institutional changes to brighten the U.S. economy’s long-term growth prospects, what would you change and why?” Their response essays will be made available [here](https://www.cato.org/conference-forum/reviving-economic-growth) in the run-up to the conference.

| **9:00 – 9:15 a.m.** | **Welcoming Remarks** [**Brink Lindsey**](https://www.cato.org/people/brink-lindsey), Cato Institute |
|:--|:--|
| **9:15 – 10:30 a.m.** | [Download a video of the Welcoming Remarks and Panel 1](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cc-12-04-14-01.mp4) [Download a podcast of the Welcoming Remarks and Panel 1](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cca-12-04-14-01.mp3) **Panel 1: Forecasting the Long-Term Growth Outlook** **Dale Jorgenson**, Harvard University **John Fernald**, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco **Martin Baily**, Brookings Institution |
| **10:30 – 10:45 a.m.** | **Break** |
| **10:45 a.m. – Noon** | [Download a video of Panel 2](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cc-12-04-14-02.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 2](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cca-12-04-14-02.mp3) **Panel 2: The Future of Innovation: Stagnation, Singularity, or Something in Between?** **Erik Brynjolfsson**, Massachusetts Institute of Technology **Robert Gordon**, Northwestern University **Stephen Oliner**, American Enterprise Institute |
| **Noon – 1:15 p.m.** | **Lunch** |
| **1:15 – 2:30 p.m.** | [Download a video of Panel 3](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cc-12-04-14-03.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 3](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cca-12-04-14-03.mp3) **Panel 3: Is Economic Dynamism in Decline?** **John Haltiwanger**, University of Maryland **Amar Bhidé**, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University **Alex Tabarrok**, George Mason University |
| **2:30 – 2:45 p.m.** | **Break** |
| **2:45 – 4:00 p.m.** | [Download a video of Panel 4](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cc-12-04-14-04.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 4](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cca-12-04-14-04.mp3) **Panel 4: What Is to Be Done? (part one)** **Edmund Phelps**, Columbia University **Edward Glaeser**, Harvard University **Brad DeLong**, University of California Berkeley |
| **4:00 – 5:15 p.m.** | [Download a video of Panel 5](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cc-12-04-14-05.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 5](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2014/cca-12-04-14-05.mp3) **Panel 5: What Is to Be Done? (part two)** **Susan Dudley**, George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center **Michael Mandel**, Progressive Policy Institute **Bowman Cutter**, Roosevelt Institute **Robert Strom**, Kauffman Foundation |
| **5:15 – 5:30 p.m.** | **Closing Remarks** [**Brink Lindsey**](https://www.cato.org/people/brink-lindsey), Cato Institute |

**If you can’t make it to the Cato Institute, watch this event live online at [www​.cato​.org/live](https://www.cato.org/live) and follow [@CatoEvents](https://twitter.com/catoevents) on Twitter to get future event updates, live streams, and videos from the Cato Institute.**

Attend in Person**Online registration for this event is now closed. If you are interested in registering for this event, please email [events@​cato.​org](mailto:events%40cato.org) or call (202) 789‑5203.**

Reception to follow