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Symposium

Robert B. Menschel Economics Symposium: Lessons From 1929

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Carlos Barria/Reuters

Event date



From Robert B Menschel Economics Symposium.

This symposium will feature a fireside chat with Andrew Ross Sorkin on the lessons from the 1929 Wall Street crash, followed by a panel discussion on the present-day risk of a bubble, and how policy makers should respond. Copies of 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History will be available for purchase during the symposium.

The Robert B. Menschel Economics Symposium, presented by the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies,was established in 2014 and was made possible through a generous endowment gift from Robert B. Menschel while a senior director at Goldman Sachs. Since Menschel’s death in 2022, the symposium continues in his honor and memory.

This symposium is also part of CFR’s America at 250 Series. To mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of independence, CFR is dedicating a year-long series of articles, videos, podcasts, events, and special projects that will reflect on two and a half centuries of U.S. foreign policy. Featuring bipartisan voices and expert contributors, the series explores the evolution of America’s role in the world and the strategic challenges that lie ahead.

Virtual Keynote Session: A Conversation With Andrew Ross Sorkin

Speaker

  • Andrew Ross Sorkin
    Founder, DealBook, and Columnist and Editor at Large, New York Times; Coanchor, Squawk Box, CNBC; Author, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation; CFR Member

Presider

  • Gillian Tett
    Columnist and Member of the Editorial Board, Financial Times; Head, King’s College, University of Cambridge; CFR Member

Introductory Remarks

Transcript

FROMAN: It’s great to have you all here, albeit virtually, for this once-in-a-decade storm in the northeast, Snowmageddon. We’ve got about 500 members and guests who are participating virtually and we really appreciate you all tuning in.

This is the Robert B. Menschel Economics Symposium. The symposium was launched at CFR in 2014, thanks to a gift from Robert Menschel, who was then a senior director at Goldman Sachs, and we’ve continued it since his passing in 2022 in his honor.

He was the author of Markets, Mobs, and Mayhem: A Modern Look at the Madness of Crowds. You have to wonder what he would think about prediction markets today and their role in trying to assess the likelihood of geopolitical outcomes in Ukraine or China, Taiwan, or what’s going on in Iran this week.

But leaving the geopolitical markets aside, it’s hardly—it can hardly be a better time to sit down and talk about what’s going on in the global economy, given that fundamental aspects of the international economic system are now being reopened for debate.

And with that, we are delighted to have a great lineup for you today. First, a conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin, our...

Virtual Session: Looking Ahead—Forecasting the Global Economic Climate

Speakers

  • Jared Bernstein
    Distinguished Policy Fellow, Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University; Senior Fellow, Economic Policy, Center for American Progress; Former Chair, Council of Economic Advisers (2023–25)
  • Peter R. Fisher
    Distinguished Senior Fellow, Golub Center for Finance and Policy, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Former Undersecretary for Domestic Finance, U.S. Department of the Treasury (2001–03); CFR Member
  • Carmen M. Reinhart
    Minos A. Zombanakis Professor of the International Financial System, Harvard Kennedy School; Coauthor, This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly; CFR Member

Presider

  • Catherine Rampell
    Cohost, The Weekend Primetime, MS NOW; Economics Editor, The Bulwark

Transcript

RAMPELL: Great. Thanks so much. Welcome, everyone, to the second session of the Robert B. Menschel Symposium, Looking Ahead: Forecasting the Global Economic Climate. This symposium is made possible through the generous support of Robert B. Menschel. Since his passing in 2022, the symposium continues in his honor and memory.

The audience today consists of Council members and guests around the country who are joining us online via Zoom. As you just heard, this is all on the record. My name is Catherine Rampell. I am an anchor at MS NOW, formerly known as MSNBC. I host, cohost, a weekend show called The Weekend Primetime, and I’m also the economics editor at the Bulwark. I am presiding over today’s discussion.

And I’m delighted to do so because we have a wonderful panel, beginning with Jared Bernstein, who was until recently the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Joe Biden. He is now a fellow at SIEPR and at the Center for American Progress.

We also have Peter Fisher, who is at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Formerly he was undersecretary for domestic finance at the U.S. Department of Treasury from 2001 to 2003. He is also a...