Debate Topics

 

Bankers pay: the UK government should impose limits on banker's pay. (pdf. file)  

Keynes Vs. Hayek: Should governments spend huge amounts of money to get their economies going?

Development Aid
Should the wealthier developed nations give development aid to Sub-Saharan Africa?

The Greek Debt Crisis
Should the European Union bail out Greece and save the Euro?

Monetary Policy
Are central banks going too far when they lower interest rates and use quantitative easing to help spur economies in times of an economic slowdown?

 

 

The following are debates from the Economist.

Executive pay: on the whole, senior executives are worth what they are paid.

Resenting the rich: the rich should pay higher taxes.

Financial crisis: it would it be a mistake to regulate the financial system heavily after the crisis.

State capitalism: is state capitalism  a viable alternative to liberal capitalism.

Regulating business and financial risks:  by intervening to regulate business and financial risks, goverments have made things worse.

Renewables: is subsidising renewable energy a good way to wean the world off fossil fuels.

Fiscal stimulus: does America need substantial new fiscal stimulus.

The euro and Europe: is the euro, as a single currency,  dividing Europe and should it  be abolished?

Manufacturing: an economy cannot succeed without a big manufacturing base.

Tech bubble: are we  in a new tech bubble?

Banking: does more competition make banking more dangerous?

Inflation: a 2% inflation target is too low.

Innovation models: Japanese "incremental innovation" is superior to the West's "disruptive innovation".

Industrial policy: industrial policy always fails.

The euro: euro area will fragment over the next ten years

Fair trade: making trade fairer is more important than making it freer.

GDP: GDP growth is a poor measure of improving living standards.

German economy:  the German economy is too dependent on exports for growth.

Innovation: innovation works best when government does least.

Green jobs: creating green jobs is a sensible aspiration for governments.

Financial innovation:  financial innovation boosts economic growth.

Africa and China: China's growing involvement in Africa is to be welcomed.

The cost of higher education: individuals, not the state, should pay for higher education.

Rising food prices: there is an upside for humanity in the rise of food prices.

 Workforce Talent 2020: the competitiveness of workers in today's rich countries is in permanent decline.

Corporate responsibility: without outside pressure, corporations will not take meaningful action on sustainability.