Today, Tsai Ing-wen, former president of Taiwan, discusses her country’s role in technology and geopolitics as well as her own approach to leadership; Hoover scholars explain the details and potential trade-offs of Proposition 38, a measure intended to advance health-focused scientific research; and Steven Davis discusses the intellectual contributions of his colleague Robert Hall, who this week was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Hoover Institution News
In a world increasingly characterized by politicians insulting each other at lecterns and on social media, Taiwan’s former president, Tsai Ing-wen, told an audience at the Hoover Institution that there is much to be said for leaders staying out of the limelight and instead focusing on achieving results. From serving as legal adviser to Taiwan’s delegation during its accession to the World Trade Organization to becoming its first female president in 2016, steering the nation through a global pandemic, and cementing its position as a linchpin in the AI computing supply chain—the characteristically modest and quiet stateswoman has built a career on precisely that approach. “In a time when politics is increasingly polarized and provocation often attracts more attention than restraint, being a little boring may actually be useful,” Tsai said in the October 8 gathering. “Especially when your responsibility is to keep Taiwan secure and find enough common ground for a democracy to keep moving forward.” Read more here.
California Decides
If approved by California voters in November, Proposition 38 would let the state borrow $8.4 billion by selling general obligation bonds to fund research in immunology and immunotherapy, the fields that use the body’s own immune system to fight disease. Half of the money would fund a single nonprofit medical research institute affiliated with the University of California, chosen by the California Department of Public Health under criteria written into the measure. The other half would pay for competitive grants to California-based public and nonprofit universities and research institutions. The measure requires that over $4 billion be dedicated to research on cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. It bars any award to for-profit companies or drug manufacturers and caps state administrative spending at 2 percent, thus requiring that 98 percent of funds go to research and development of cures. One main trade-off, however, is an uncertain return on investment for the state and its taxpayers. Learn more about the measure here.
Economics
“One of the great benefits of an academic career is the opportunity to learn from and engage brilliant colleagues,” Senior Fellow and Director of Research Steven J. Davis reflects in this post on LinkedIn. “This year's Nobel Prize in Economics reminds me that I've been especially blessed in this regard. Mike Woodford and I were colleagues at Chicago Booth early in our careers, and Robert E. Hall (Bob) is my colleague at the Hoover Institution.” Davis adds, “Bob has greatly influenced my thinking and research over the course of my career. When I've disagreed with Bob, his work spurred me to sharpen my thinking and deepen my research to explain why.” Davis’s post mentions several of Hall’s significant publications that are not covered in the Scientific Background essay published by the Nobel Prize Committee, demonstrating “the sheer breadth of Bob's intellectual contributions.” Read more here.
Steven Davis welcomes back Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President and CEO Mary Daly for a return appearance on Economics, Applied—this time filmed on location at the San Francisco Fed. They discuss the Fed’s new communications regime under Chair Kevin Warsh, how the Fed should respond to demand overheating and inflationary supply shocks, and what Daly thinks about the implications of AI technologies for the conduct of monetary policy. The conversation also explores wage stickiness and whether the banking system is safe from cyberattacks. Watch or listen here.
Freedom Frequency
In this Grumpy Economist Weekly Rant, Senior Fellow John H. Cochrane rails against a litany of supposed “solutions” to the affordability issues facing Americans. Populist policies like capping credit card interest, limiting rent increases, and raising the minimum wage are all polling well, per Cochrane. But “the government can’t, by taxing, spending, borrowing, or regulating, make anything more affordable overall,” Cochrane points out. “All it can do is try to make someone else pay for it, and then often give you something you don’t really want and lose half the money along the way.” Watch or listen here.
Related Commentary