Computer chips are the driving force behind everything from smartphones and cars to military defense systems and artificial intelligence. Not only are they the essential element of modern digital infrastructure, they are a critical element in the global balance of power.

Taiwan is home to the most advanced and productive chip plants in the world, precariously placing the technology between Communist China and the democratic West. In today’s geopolitical landscape, control over semiconductor supply chains is more than just an economic issue; it’s a matter of national security. Today on Political Economy, I’m talking with Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology.

Miller is a nonresident senior fellow here at AEI, where his research focuses on Russian foreign policy, politics, economics, as well as Eurasian geopolitics and the geopolitics of technology. He is an assistant professor of international history and co-director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is also the director of the Eurasia program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Growth is good for everyone in an economy, but it is also inherently disruptive. Today on Political Economy, I talk to Glenn Hubbard about why fear of change can trap us in an economic zero-sum game, and how embracing the growing pains of innovation can free us from that scenario, making things better for everybody.

Hubbard is a nonresident senior fellow here at AEI, where he writes about a wide range of economic topics, from poverty to international finance. He is the former dean of Columbia Business School, and currently serves as the director of the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business.

The Biden administration has set ambitious goals to decrease US carbon emissions. Starting in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act granted clean energy tax credits to businesses in hopes of encouraging a greener economy.

Kyle and Shuting Pomerleau see a carbon tax as a superior approach. To offset any regressive effects, they propose a revenue swap, using the income from the tax to directly finance an expanded child tax credit. Today on Political Economy, I talk to the Pomerleaus about their innovative policy proposal, and why a carbon tax might be a powerful, multifaceted solution.

Shuting Pomerleau is the deputy director of climate policy at the Niskanen Center. She has previously worked at the Cato Institute and the American Council on Renewable Energy.

Kyle Pomerleau is a senior fellow at AEI, where he studies federal tax policy. He was previously chief economist and vice president of economic analysis at the Tax Foundation.