Sung Won Sohn Ph.D

The end of the war will not restore the old economic order—it will cement a new one. The conflict has caused lasting damage to energy supply and global logistics, creating a higher structural floor for energy prices. As a result, inflation will remain elevated while growth slows, complicating central bank policy. Global trade will fragment, and supply chains will prioritize resilience over efficiency.

Takeaway: Business leaders must adapt now—reprice cost structures, hedge energy exposure, and build resilient supply chains for a higher-cost, more volatile world.

In this keynote, Sung Won Sohn explains how companies must reinvent themselves as artificial intelligence reshapes the global economy. Drawing on real-world examples such as Mastercard, he shows how value shifts from products to services, from transactions to data, and ultimately to platforms that control entire ecosystems. AI is accelerating this transformation by turning data into actionable intelligence and new competitive advantage.

Key takeaway: In today’s economy, success depends not on producing more, but on controlling the platforms and data where value is created.

Behavioral economics is a relatively new field of economics. Some of the recent Nobel Prizes were awarded to Behavioral Economics which is a combination of psychology and economics.

In traditional economics, rational decisions based on the price mechanism are the norm. Then how do we explain booms, recessions, inflation, failures, etc? This is where behavioral economics comes in. Here are the ten topics included in the speech:

1.Decisions are often irrational

2.Social preference often drive decisions

3.We learn socially affecting outcomes.

4.Non-monetary motivations weigh heavily on decisions

5.We make quick decisions, not necessarily deliberate.

6.How heuristics (rules of thumb) are used in decisions

7. People are not good at forward Planning

8. Mood, Personality and Emotion matter a lot

9. We have aggregation problems

10. How to use “Nudges” to Change Behavior

• Internet, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency
• The role of stable coin in finance
• Decentralized Finance (DeFi) vs. Traditional Banking
• How CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) could affect banking and finance
• Blockchain applications to real estate
• Regulatory constraints

How do they work together?

Simple Examples

Why Popular in EM?

Stable Coin

Central Bank Digital Currency

-Pros and Cons of CBDC

-How banks are affected by it

Blockchain in Real Estate

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Problems w/ Blockchain

1. Biden’s $4 trillion stimulus plan:
– Why such a large plan?
– Short- vs. long-term consequences.
– Winners and losers

2. Infrastructure plan:
– Why is this different from the other stimulus plan?
– Winners and losers

3. How to pay for the stimulus
– Printing money and its consequences/ What is Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)?
– Tax the rich? Will it pay for the stimulus? Economic consequences of higher taxes on productivity and growth
– Borrow from China and other foreign countries? Consequences of foreigners owning a bigger piece of America.

4. Inflation: Short- vs. long-term risks
– Gap between potential and actual GDP growth path
– Bottlenecks and supply chain. Winners and losers
– Labor costs and long-term inflation
– Inflation expectations and long-term inflation

5. Global Economic Impact on countries
– Minimum corporate tax and economic outcome
– Trade flows in the new economic paradigm
– Winners and losers

6. Public opinion on:
– Taxing the wealthy
– Massive expansion of government benefits
– Universal Income
– Why it matters

7. Economic Outlook
– Economic growth
– Inflation
– Interest rates
– Stock market
– Real estate
– Winners and losers

– Are bitcoins, dogecoins, nonfungible tokens (NFT), etc. bubbles or investments?

– Does the extreme volatility disqualify digital coins as a normal investment and is deemed speculative?

– Crypto currencies and the environment.

– The “Greater Fool” theory in cryptocurrency

– Stable coins have been invented. The value of a stable coin is tied to another asset, such as the U.S. dollar. Tether (USDT) is a popular stable coin

– Are there tax implications of owning cryptocurrencies?

– Moving money in the existing payment system is expensive and slow. Here comes the digital currencies (DC)

– Digital currencies have been gaining popularity taking over a growing share of payments from the traditional banking system. Implications?

– Some 50 central banks around the world, including the Federal Reserve, are considering the CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency), a substitute for a fiat money like the U.S. dollar.

– The power of monetary policy to dampen economic cycles become less effective.

– Despite these reservations about cryptocurrencies, there has been growing acceptance among institutional investors. Digital currencies are here to stay.

– Individual and small investors must be extra cautious about the risk, particularly volatility of the assets.

– Disruptions emanating from the global, national and local economies will become more frequent and severe in the post- pandemic economy. How should businesses cope with the changes?

– Employees haven’t recovered from the pandemic stress, but will experience continuing changes negatively affecting productivity. Some are burned out.

– In the post-pandemic environment, the emphasis on ESG, equality, fairness, etc. make management more challenging.

– What to do? A clear and frequent communication of vision and goals as well as understanding and protecting competitive advantages are important.

– Do you know what your competitive advantages are? Do you know what your competitors are doing? Can you predict your competitors’ reactions to any move you make?

– Understanding your competitive advantage is a key to success. Once you understand the wall protecting you, reinforcing and fortifying it is important.

– What gives you the advantages? How do you respond when your competitors gain?

– Several case studies are introduced including Walmart, Coors Beer, Fox, Cola Drinks, Kodak, Polaroid, Microsoft, Disney, Neflix, etc.

– In the long-run, everything is a toaster. How do you maintain your competitive advantage in the long run? How do you know you are enjoying competitive advantages in the long run?

– The speech concludes with some Do’s and Don’ts for businesses to consider to remain competitive.

1. President Biden’s Economic Philosophy
– Why such a large stimulus?
– Short- vs. long-term consequences.
– Winners and losers

2. Infrastructure plan:
– Will it raise productivity of the economy?
– Winners and losers

3. How to pay for the stimulus
– Printing money and its consequences/ What is Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)?
– Tax the rich? Will it pay for the stimulus? Economic consequences of higher taxes on productivity and growth
– Borrow from China and other foreign countries? Consequences of foreigners owning a bigger piece of America.

4. Inflation: How transitory is it?
– Is it a short-term phenomenon?
– Could Chairman Powell be wrong?
– Why could it be a long-term problem?
– Labor costs and long-term inflation
– Inflation expectations and long-term inflation
– Winners and losers from sustained inflation

5. Minimum corporate tax and economic outcome
– Will it work?
– Who are the winners and losers?

6. What does the public opinion say about:
– Taxing the wealthy
– Massive expansion of government benefits
– Universal Income
– Why it matters to you and the economy.

7. Economic Outlook
– Economic growth
– Inflation
– Interest rates
– Stock market
– Real estate
– Delta Virus
– Winners and losers

8. Your Industry and Business
– How will your industry fare in either scenario?

Blockchain technology
– What is the Blockchain technology?
– How does it work?
– Why should we care about it?

Applications of Blockchain: Tokens
– What is tokenization?
– Examples (ticketing, real estate, bonds, carbon trading)

Applications of Blockchain: Cryptocurrency
– What are Cryptocurrencies and Stable Coins?
– What is Bitcoin and why is it so important?
– What is a stable coin/ Tether?
– Key risks in cryptocurrencies
– Regulatory issues

Digital Finance (DeFi)
– What is it?
– How is it related to Cryptocurrency?
– No intermediaries
– Smart contract

Central Bank digital Currency (CBDC)
– What is it?
– Why does it matter to you?
– Impact on banking and payment system
– Replace the banking system?
– Creative destruction in progress?