In The News

The G20: Captive in the Prison of Mercantilism

Ernesto Zedillo November 13, 2010
The G20 meeting of the world’s major economies concluded in Seoul without a serious plan for coordinating macroeconomic policies. Since the first G20 meeting in November 2008, global leaders have recognized that inconsistent, poorly coordinated policies spurred the global economic crisis along. But behaving like the mercantilists of old rather than world powers in the 21st century – delivering a...

Only the Weak Survive

Nouriel Roubini November 12, 2010
Export giant China has resisted revaluation of the renminbi. Eager for exports, nations follow China’s lead, increasingly engaging in competitive currency devaluations. These maneuvers exacerbate global imbalances already huge. “A world where over-spending countries need to reduce domestic demand and boost net exports, while over-saving countries are unwilling to reduce their reliance on export-...

G-20 to Push Current Balance Guidelines

Kim Yon-se November 12, 2010
The G-20 meeting in South Korea closed with assurances that leaders of the world's largest economies would set up a warning system on excessive current-account imbalances. The leaders rejected US proposals that would have placed specific caps on surpluses or deficits. The G-20 also agreed to refrain from currency manipulations and to allow the markets to direct currency values; pursue stable...

Angela Merkel Consigns Ireland, Portugal and Spain to Their Fate

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard November 11, 2010
With a surplus in hand, Germany has little patience with Portugal, Ireland, Spain and other nations steeped in debt. A permanent rescue fund and amendments to the Lisbon Treaty, with conditions proposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, will shift more responsibility for problematic debt onto bondholders and away from taxpayers. Countries will be allowed to go into what has been labeled “...

Shift in Washington Stirs Economic Jitters Abroad

Liz Alderman November 3, 2010
President Barack Obama had two years to turn around a struggling economy before the mid-term elections. Voters expressed dissatisfaction, shifting control of the US House of Representatives, one of two legislative bodies, over to the Republicans. Republican leaders signal that reducing unemployment and taxes are priorities. But global onlookers fear tax reduction will aggravate deficits, widening...

Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore

Robert H. Frank October 29, 2010
Widening income gaps erode a society’s strength, sapping optimism and innovation. In recent decades, the US joined the ranks of less developed nations as income growth is concentrated among top earners. Political economists hesitate to condemn opposition to taxes that contributes to the trend. Exorbitant spending by a wealthy few establishes new expectations and standards of one’s need, raising...

Surprising But True, US Exports Are Growing

Edward Gresser October 20, 2010
Global recession struck in late 2008, and high levels of personal and public debt complicated reviving the US economy and consumer spending. Increasing exports is the fastest, most logical alternative for boosting economic growth and reducing unemployment. In January 2010, President Barack Obama set a goal of doubling the nation’s exports in five years – and the nation is on track, selling...