In The News

Renminbi Revaluation Won't Trigger a Shopping Spree

Zhiwu Chen May 12, 2010
Many economists and policy analysts maintain that resolving huge trade imbalances is easy – the Chinese government should just let the renminbi appreciate. But that quick fix won’t do much, contends Zhiwu Chen, professor of finance with the Yale School of Management. Revaluing the renminbi would shift manufacturing to other low-cost Asian nations, without spurring Chinese spending on US goods or...

Greek Crisis and the Future of the European Union – Part II

Jean-Pierre Lehmann May 7, 2010
Internal divisions can endanger any union more than external threats. Mistrust – a lack of shared basic values or vision – can decimate cooperation, explains Jean-Pierre Lehmann, professor of political economy, in the second article of a two-part series analyzing the Greek debt crisis. Lehmann describes Greece’s immense debt load, the history of corruption, and their effect on the European Union...

Debt and Unemployment: Is Global Capitalism Responsible? – Part II

David Dapice April 26, 2010
In declaring an end to recession, economists fall into two camps: One side, including economists with the Obama administration, maintains high rates of unemployment are cyclical and jobs will return soon; others contend that the US economy confronts fundamental restructuring, with massive unemployment lingering for years. This two-part YaleGlobal series examines economic debates over debt and...

Debt and Unemployment: Is Global Capitalism Responsible? – Part I

Jeffrey E. Garten April 23, 2010
Global capital markets have been footloose and fancy free since the 1980s, boosted by rapid globalization in transportation, communication and technology industries. Prowling for profits, investors leap boundaries in an instant, manipulating growth, jobs and industries. In this series, two economists explore global capitalism’s growing reach that defies even the world’s greatest economic power....

Beijing Is Key to Creating More U.S. Jobs

C. Fred Bergsten April 22, 2010
By artificially setting the price of its currency, China is robbing the United States of jobs and building up an unprecedented trade surplus. Former Treasury official Bergsten says that currency manipulation is a form of protectionism and the US and global institutions need to respond because it is a problem that affects economies around the world. He calls for a three-pronged strategy: the US...

The G-20 and the Future of Capitalism – Part III

Pranab Bardhan April 3, 2009
In the third part of our series on the G-20 and the Future of Capitalism, Berkeley economics professor Pranab Bardhan suggests perhaps much to the chagrin of its naysayers, capitalism is here to stay. But chastened by the crisis, it is likely to take on a much milder form. Financial asset growth will slow; producers rather than traders will resume precedence; and financial regulation will...

The G-20 and the Future of Capitalism – Part II

Jean-Pierre Lehmann April 1, 2009
At a time when the EU needs to present a united voice if not in policy, at least in speech, at the G-20 summit, the union is in chaos. In the second article of this three-part series on the G-20 Summit and the Future of Capitalism, professor of International Political Economy, Jean-Pierre Lehmann points to the unfortunate coincidence of Europe’s faltering unity at a time when it is needed the...