As policymakers grapple with rising federal debt, an aging population, rapid advances in artificial intelligence, and the long-term costs of health care and energy transition, the Marriner S. Eccles Institute for Economics and Quantitative Analysis at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business recently brought together many of the nation’s leading economists and policy experts to examine the forces shaping America’s fiscal future.
Hosted in partnership with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, “The Forces Shaping America’s Fiscal Future” conference convened scholars from the Congressional Budget Office, the Brookings Institution, Harvard University, Yale University, Northwestern University, Brown University, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the University of Utah for three days of discussion.
“Long-run budget projections are only as good as the assumptions underneath them — about productivity, longevity, medical costs,” said Adam Looney, Director of the Marriner S. Eccles Institute. “For every budget topic affecting U.S. government finances, we convened scholars who study the economic phenomenon with those who score its budgetary consequences.”
Throughout the conference, participants explored the economic and policy trends expected to define the nation’s fiscal outlook over the coming decades. Sessions examined how demographic change, defense spending, artificial intelligence, health care costs, energy policy, taxation, and politics are reshaping federal budgets and long-term economic growth—and what policymakers might do about it.
Sessions were built in pairs. Benjamin Jones (Northwestern University) opened on artificial intelligence and long-run economic growth; Karen Dynan and Doug Elmendorf (Harvard University) and Louise Sheiner (Brookings) followed on what AI would mean for federal revenues and spending. David Cutler (Harvard University) presented on the drivers of health care cost growth, followed by analysts from the Congressional Budget Office on how those costs move through the federal budget. Other sessions covered defense (Mark Cancian, Center for Strategic and International Studies), demographic change, clean energy tax policy, business tax reform, and the politics of fiscal policy.
The conference also showcased the Eccles School’s role as a national convener of evidence-based policy discussion. University of Utah faculty joined nationally recognized scholars and policymakers to examine fiscal challenges that extend well beyond academia and carry significant implications for lawmakers, businesses, and communities.
In addition to formal presentations, attendees participated in fireside conversations with University of Utah President Taylor Randall, on the future of American higher education, and Professor Paul Brooks, whose discussion on the Great Salt Lake, water conservation, and climate change highlighted the importance of connecting national fiscal conversations with issues affecting the Intermountain West.
By bringing together leading voices from academia, government, and public policy organizations, the Marriner S. Eccles Institute continues to strengthen its role as a forum for rigorous, nonpartisan dialogue on the nation’s most pressing economic challenges. The conference reflected both the Institute’s growing national profile and the Eccles School’s commitment to advancing research and conversations with meaningful societal impact.