Beware of Inflation Fundamentalism
As the Euro crisis continues to play out in Greece and other weak Euro area members, the time has come for policy makers to consider moderately raising their inflation targets. […]
Economic Instability
Greek Crisis: A Dire Warning From Argentina and Latvia
History shows that while leaving the Euro area and defaulting would have disastrous implications for Greece and Euro area, it may become the best of bad options if Greece does not receive adequate support from the EU. […]
Greek Euro Disease
Greece is now facing a sovereign debt crisis that is calling into question the viability of the Euro itself. While there are no easy solutions to this crisis, both Germany and the IMF must provide Greece with the support it needs. […]
Can the United States Double Exports in Five Years?
Exports have become an important contributor to U.S. growth in recent years and will be crucial to the recovery. President Obama’s recently announced target of doubling exports in five years, however, appears overly ambitious. […]
The Euro Under Attack
As market confidence in the Greek government debt teeters on collapse, and confidence in Portugal, Spain, and Ireland continues to erode, an urgent question has emerged: will the Euro area implode? […]
Exchange Rates and the Crisis: The Dog That Didn’t Bark
During the financial crisis, exchange rates adjusted in a remarkably orderly way. Policy makers should be aware, however, that severe exchange rate tensions still require their attention. […]
Why No U.S. President will Bomb Iran
The Obama administration’s deadline for Iran to enter discussions on the nuclear issue has passed. In spite of claims from Washington that “all options are on the table,” the economic crisis makes a military response to Iran infeasible. […]
Global Outlook: Not Your Average Crisis
Recovery came faster than expected in 2009 and forecasts seem to be underestimating the outlook again—this time for 2010. The consequences of underestimating growth remain milder than those of overestimating it, however, and policy makers should not accelerate stimulus withdrawal. […]
Happy New Year? The World Economy in 2010
After the worst year of economic performance in recent memory, most projections show positive growth in 2010, but questions about the sustainability of the recovery remain central. […]
After Copenhagen
The Copenhagen Accord represents a step forward in dealing with the climate change, but two problems—the insistence on binding, internationally-agreed-upon targets and the conflation of the mitigation and aid agendas—should be avoided in the future. […]