Let's Automate Politicians…, says the AI Economist.
Capitalism and neoliberalism have been severely questioned lately. The rise of inequality in many countries (even though globally may be balancing due to China’s ascent) is a source of social and political tension. And productivity stagnation also raises doubts about the whole economic system. COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the doubts and the debate, and not surprisingly a lot of new and not so new but marginal ideas are back on the scene. For example, the opportunity and potential benefits of a universal basic income.
Not surprisingly, in countries like my own, Spain, where there is a widespread lack of knowledge about technical and economic issues among the political class (not necessarily some people behind them who nobody hears) , and with governments controlled by populist parties and political value propositions, the debate is clumsy, to say the least.
Therefore it is refreshing and encouraging to see that there are people contributing with new ideas to this old and tough debate. It is more necessary than ever. One of this promising ideas is the use of simulation techniques to analyse and design better economic policies. Economics is all about difficult trade-offs, and testing in the real economy is neither feasible not desirable. For example, finding a tax policy that optimizes equality along with productivity is an unsolved problem.
