A Conversation with Lawrence Summers at the W Hotel

The following is a sponsored post from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

In the event of a financial crisis, there is one person you want around: economist Lawrence H. Summers. As the director of the National Economic Council under President Obama and the Treasury Secretary under President Clinton, Dr. Summers played a key role in addressing the major financial crises of the last two decades at home and abroad.

On Wednesday, September 6, Dr. Summers’ expertise and intellect will be on display in a one-on-one conversation with economist Tyler Cowen at the W Hotel in D.C. The discussion will be open to the public free of charge.

Click here to register for the event.

This conversation is the next installment in the Mercatus Center’s Conversations with Tyler series in which Cowen explores the world of ideas in one-on-one dialogues with today’s top thinkers. Past guests include Malcolm Gladwell, Jhumpa Lahiri, Atul Gawande, and many other brilliant thinkers. Of the series, Cowen has said “It’s the idea of having dialogues as serious as possible. Don’t make any concessions to the audience. And see who will listen.”

Tyler’s conversation with Dr. Summers will likely stay true to that principle. The back and forth promises to be stimulating for the audience as both economists have written extensively about monetary policy, stagnation, fiscal stimulus, political correctness and more.

For Summers, a passion and aptitude for economics runs in the family. He is the oldest of three sons born to economics professors Robert and Anita Summers. He also had two uncles who were awarded the Nobel Prize in economics — the late Paul Samuelson and Kenneth Arrow.

After receiving his bachelor’s of science from MIT and a PhD from Harvard, Summers went on to become one of the youngest tenured professors in Harvard’s recent history. Between working with the Clinton and Obama administrations, Summers returned to Harvard in 2001 as president for five years.

If you are interested in learning more about the life and ideas of one of the world’s sharpest intellects, join the Mercatus Center and Tyler at the W Hotel on September 6 for a conversation with Lawrence H. Summers.