The Chicago Thinker is proud to bring together a distinguished group of economic experts to discuss 21st-century challenges to a free-market orthodoxy. The panel will be moderated by Noah Bauserman, the Chicago Thinker’s Deputy Editor, and will include Nobel Laureate James Robinson, Harald Uhlig, Lydia Newman, and Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould. This panel is set to critically debate an overarching theme: how should free markets navigate an era of increased government regulation and bureaucracy.
James Robinson is a world-renowned economist, political scientist, and recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics. He is the Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the Harris School of Public Policy and the Director of the Pearson Institute at the University of Chicago. Robinson renowned as the co-author of Why Nations Fail, which explores how the political structures of states, more relevantly than their geography or culture, determine economic prosperity. Robinson is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society.
Harald Uhlig is a distinguished macroeconomist and the Bruce Allen and Logene Foster Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 2007. The former chair of the Department of Economics and a former lead editor of the Journal of Political Economy, Uhlig has also served as a consultant for the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bank, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. His research focuses on the intersection of macroeconomics and financial markets, specifically regarding business cycles, fiscal policy, and the role of central banks.
Lydia Newman is a prominent monetary policy expert and the Managing Director of Monetary Economics at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER). With over two decades of experience in the public policy arena, she has held high-level leadership roles within federal regulatory bodies, non-profit think tanks, and the U.S. Congress. Throughout her career, Newman has been a leading voice in the effort to establish a more stable and predictable monetary framework that limits discretionary intervention in the economy.
Jonathan Gould serves as the 32nd Comptroller of the Currency of the United States, where he is the administrator of the United States federal banking system. Sworn into office in July 2025, Gould oversees the regulation and supervision of more than 1,000 national banks and federal savings associations. In this capacity, he also serves as a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and as a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Gould has been a partner at Jones Day, Director at BlackRock, and served as Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel of the OCC during the first Trump administration.
The American Identity Summit will be held at the David Rubenstein Forum on May 15-16th. The economics panel will take place at 1:00 pm on May 16th, Central Time. You can livestream the economics panel at this link.