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Begin New Search Topic Monetary Policy Political Geography United States Content Type Policy Brief Publishing Institution Peterson Institute for International Economics

11. Right Idea, Wrong Direction: Obama's Corporate Tax Reform Proposals

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Martin Vieiro
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The need for US corporate tax reform is blindingly obvious. Conservatives contend that the top corporate tax rate— whether measured in statutory or effective terms—is the second highest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Liberals argue that the US corporate tax system is riddled with complex “loopholes,” enabling many firms—whether incorporated or not—to pay less than their fair share.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States

12. The Current Currency Situation

Author:
William R. Cline and John Williamson
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The currency markets have been extremely disturbed for the last three months. The period witnessed a major strengthening of the US dollar in September, then the European currency crisis, a recovery of the euro when the markets believed that the crisis was being controlled, and then a rebound of the dollar. In view of these developments, those who follow currency movements need a new guide as to how the current values of currencies compare to our estimates of fundamental equilibrium exchange rates (FEERs). That is the main object of this paper.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Political Economy, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

13. Revitalizing the Export-Import Bank

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Meera Fickling, and Woan Foong Wong
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The United States has experienced persistent trade deficits for decades, and thoughtful observers have concluded that deficits cannot be sustained at levels much exceeding 4 percent of GDP annually. There are only two ways to decrease the trade deficit: reduce imports or increase exports. For global economic health, increased exports are a far better proposition.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States

14. Estimates of Fundamental Equilibrium Exchange Rates, May 2011

Author:
William R. Cline and John Williamson
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
This policy brief updates our estimates of fundamental equilibrium exchange rates (FEERs) to the latest available data, which for exchange rates are the average rates of April 2011, and for the IMF's balance of payments forecasts, those published in the April 2011 issue of World Economic Outlook (WEO; see IMF 2011a). It is the central study in what has now become a regular annual cycle, in which we draw out what we believe to be the implications of the IMF's forecasts for the pattern that exchange rates need to take if the world is to approach a reasonably satisfactory medium-run position. This past year we also published an interim policy brief (Cline and Williamson 2010b) in which we updated our calculations to the average exchange rates of October 2010, as well as commented on Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega's description of international monetary events as constituting "currency wars." As in the previous year, however, the November 2010 policy brief updated our estimates only for intervening changes in market exchange rates. We did not make use of the IMF's revised autumn WEO forecasts to update our estimates of FEERs; on the contrary, we assumed the FEERs estimated in May 2010 were correct. In contrast, this policy brief presents totally new estimates of FEERs.
Topic:
Economics and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States and China

15. Corporate Tax Reform for a New Century

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Woan Foong Wong
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama stressed four ingredients of American prosperity: faster innovation, better education, less deficit, and more jobs. As the president recognized in his address, the US free enterprise system drives the private sector to innovate, invest, and create jobs. This policy brief concentrates on how reforming the corporate tax system can strengthen the private sector, thereby spurring both innovation and job.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

16. The Substitution Account as a First Step Toward Reform of the International Monetary System

Author:
Peter B. Kenen
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Today, the international monetary system is based largely on the US dollar, but reserve currency diversification has begun, thanks to the advent of the euro, and it is apt to continue. Eventually, the renminbi could acquire reserve currency status, and the resulting reserve currency diversification could be more disruptive than it has been to date. To forestall that possibility the quasi-currency issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), could be made to play a larger role in the international monetary system, precluding potentially disruptive diversification and achieving more orderly growth in the stock of international reserves.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States

17. Higher Taxes on Multinationals Would Hurt US Workers and Exports

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Theodore H. Moran
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
As presidential candidate, Barack Obama repeatedly advocated tax “reforms” aimed squarely at US-based multinational enterprises (MNEs). As president, he again declared—in the same State of the Union address that laid out an ambitious goal for export expansion—that “it is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America."
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States

18. An Update on EU Financial Reforms

Author:
Nicolas Véron
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
In the context of a transatlantic comparison, the first thing to be mentioned is the difference between the time sequence of financial reforms in the European Union and its equivalent in the United States. The financial crisis started simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic, with the initial disruption of some financial market segments in August 2007 and the major panic episode of September through October 2008. But they are not at the same stage of policy reaction and especially regulatory reform now. At least four reasons can be identified for this difference.
Topic:
Economics, Global Recession, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

19. Renminbi Undervaluation, China's Surplus, and the US Trade Deficit

Author:
William R. Cline
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
On June 21, 2010, in the run-up to the G-20 meeting in Toronto, China announced that it would shift to a more flexible exchange rate policy. From mid-June to July 30 the yuan rose 0.8 percent against the dollar. In contrast, the currency had remained fixed (at about 6.83 yuan to the dollar) from September 2008 to early June 2010. Pressure not only from the United States and the European Union but also from Russia, Brazil, and India as well as the IMF seems likely to have played a role in China's decision, although concerns about domestic inflation may also have been a factor.
Topic:
Economics and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States and China

20. A Solution for Europe's Banking Problem

Author:
Adam S. Posen and Nicolas Véron
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Since mid-2007, public authorities in the European Union have broadly met the challenge of ensuring a functional degree of liquidity and preventing financial meltdown. The Eurosystem has even been ahead of the curve compared with the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England in discounting early on a wide variety of assets to a range of counterparties. However, despite unprecedented central bank intervention, extensive government guarantees since October 2008, and macroeconomic assistance (with the International Monetary Fund) to the European Union's weakest member states, the underlying state of continental Europe's banking industry remains very fragile.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, and Europe