Publications: Robert D. Atkinson

If Senator Sanders wants to raise wages, he should focus on the real cause of slow growth, lagging productivity from low capital investment, instead of stymieing AI.

Trump's de facto ban on H-1B visas won't protect American workers, but it will likely result in fewer U.S. jobs and weaker U.S. companies. In Washington Monthly, Robert Atkinson argues that there are better ways to smooth this pathway for America to attract talented workers from around the world.

Although the seven values of the American Business Creed were widely accepted in the 1950s, two have eroded over time, driven largely by changes in business itself.

Unless we can restore the growth imperative in the West, we can—no surprise—expect slower, or in the case of some countries like Canada and the UK, negative per-capita income growth.

If the president is worried some organizations abuse the H-1B program and hire skilled foreign workers instead of Americans, then instead of trying to impose a fee on visa petitions a better solution would be for Congress to allow USCIS to auction off the 85,000 visa slots to the highest bidders.

Claims that AI-driven job destruction is inevitable could not be further from the truth. AI will boost U.S. productivity and spread new income across the economy.

It should be clear to everyone that unless Western, democratic, market-based economies start working together instead of against each other, China will dominate.

Trade policy should focus first and foremost on defense, dual-use, and enabling sectors and largely ignore nonstrategic sectors.

The cool new movement among policy wonks won’t make a dent in ensuring America wins the existential techno-economic trade war we’re fighting with China.

Korea needs stronger domestic policies to shore up its advanced industries, such as restoring a robust investment tax credit and expanding its weak R&D tax credit. But without working with allies, Korea will not win versus China.