Economy Issue

Debt-ridden and hidebound, Europe may be on the verge of a painful breakup. America is still reeling from the 2008 financial crisis. Even China and India — the new engines of global growth — seem to be sputtering these days. Worse yet, the usual wonkish prescriptions don’t seem to be working anymore. So we asked 13 of the smartest people we know to give us their one out-of-the-box idea for fixing the global economy. Here’s what they recommend.

• 1. Write off the World’s Debt
  By Paul Kedrosky

• 2. Hire Everybody
  By Diane Coyle

• 3. Get Better Data
  By Paul Saffo

• 4. Cut Defense Spending
  By Barney Frank

• 5. Whip Up Inflation, Now
  By Menzie Chinn and Jeffry Frieden

• 6. Spend $1 Trillion on the Future
  By Justin Yifu Lin

• 7. Raise the Minimum Wage. A Lot.
  By James K. Galbraith

• 8. Think Small
  By Vivek Wadhwa

• 9. Tame the World’s Crazy Currency System
  By David M. Smick

• 10. Buy More Yachts
  By Robert H. Frank

• 11. Get Healthy, Get Wealthy
  By Esther Dyson

• 12. Build Green Cities
  By Alex Steffen

• 13. Take a Vacation
  By Daniel C. Dennett