1 - 16 of 16
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
2. Currency Manipulation, the US Economy, and the Global Economic Order
- Author:
- C. Fred Bergsten and Joseph E. Gagnon
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- More than 20 countries have increased their aggregate foreign exchange reserves and other official foreign assets by an annual average of nearly $1 trillion in recent years. This buildup of official assets—mainly through intervention in the foreign exchange markets—keeps the currencies of the interveners substantially undervalued, thus boosting their international competitiveness and trade surpluses. The corresponding trade deficits are spread around the world, but the largest share of the loss centers on the United States, whose trade deficit has increased by $200 billion to $500 billion per year as a result. The United States has lost 1 million to 5 million jobs due to this foreign currency manipulation.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and World Trade Organization
- Political Geography:
- United States
3. The Outlook for International Monetary System Reform in 2011: A Preliminary Report Card
- Author:
- Edwin M. Truman
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Reform of the international monetary system was placed on the agenda of the Group of 20 (G-20) a year ago at the initiative of the incoming French leadership of the G-20. On November 4, 2011 in Cannes, France, the G-20 leaders will announce their conclusions and agreements after a year and half of intense dialogue and debate. This policy brief summarizes my preliminary rating of the expected results based on the evidence to date: a barely passing grade on substance but an A for effort. Neither final grade is locked in stone, however.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, International Monetary Fund, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- France
4. What Should the United States Do about Doha?
- Author:
- Jeffrey J. Schott
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) remains stalled despite the political impetus provided by the Seoul G-20 Summit in November 2010. The major trading nations have not revised their positions enough to propel new negotiations on agriculture, manufactures, and services. There is now little chance to complete an agreement this year and little indication that current efforts could succeed next year.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States
5. Copenhagen, the Accord, and the Way Forward
- Author:
- Trevor Houser
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Now that the dust has settled from the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen last December and countries have chosen whether or not to sign up to the Copenhagen Accord that resulted, it's a good time to step back and take stock.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
6. After the Flop in Copenhagen
- Author:
- Gary Clyde Hufbauer
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Despite high drama, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference, held in Copenhagen between December 7 and 18, 2009, ended as a flop. The failure to secure a comprehensive treaty came as no surprise: hopes for the Copenhagen conference to wrap up two years of negotiations with a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol had faded long before December. But it was still disappointing that so little was accomplished, especially after President Barack Obama, Premier Wen Jiabao, and over 100 world leaders decided (at the last moment) to join thousands of delegates, environmentalists, and climate activists in Copenhagen. Our own benchmarks for a reasonable outcome from Copenhagen include much greater specificity as to targets, time paths, and control measures by major emitting countries; more detailed commitments on financial support and conditionality terms for developing countries; and acceptance by all major emitters, whether developed or developing countries, of robust and independent monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) standards. We do not place great stress on the legal form of the ultimate agreement, whether a treaty or a political accord or something in between (Werksman and Herbertson 2009), but we do think the sense of obligation must be equivalent between all major emitters. Again, equivalence was not achieved.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
7. Toward a Sunny Future? Global Integration in the Solar PV Industry
- Author:
- Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, Thilo Hanemann, Lutz Weischer, and Matt Miller
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Policymakers seem to face a trade-off when designing national trade and investment policies related to clean energy sectors. They have pledged to address climate change and accelerate the large-scale deployment of renewable energy technologies, which would benefit from increased global integration, but they are also tempted to nurture and protect domestic clean technology markets to create green jobs at home and ensure domestic political support for more ambitious climate policies. This paper analyzes the global integration of the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector and looks in detail at the industry's recent growth patterns, industry cost structure, trade and investment patterns, government support policies and employment generation potential. In order to further stimulate both further growth of the solar industry and local job creation without constructing new trade and investment barriers, we recommend the following: Governments must provide sufficient and predictable long-term support to solar energy deployment. Such long-term frameworks bring investments forward and encourage cost cutting and innovation, so that government support can decrease over time. A price on carbon emissions would provide an additional long-term market signal and likely accelerate this process. Policymakers should focus not on solely the manufacturing jobs in the solar industry, but on the total number of jobs that could possibly be created including those in research, project development, installation, operations and maintenance. Global integration and broader solar PV technology deployment through lower costs can be encouraged by keeping global solar PV markets open. Protectionist policies risk slowing the development of global solar markets and provoking retaliatory actions in other sectors. Lowering existing trade barriers—by abolishing tariffs, reducing non-tariff barriers and harmonizing industry standards—would create a positive policy environment for further global integration.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Globalization, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
8. Deepening China-Taiwan Relations through the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement
- Author:
- Daniel H. Rosen
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- On Sunday, June 13, 2010 representatives from China and Taiwan held a third round of talks in Beijing on an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that would liberalize important aspects of cross-Strait economic relations. Details of what was agreed and what remains under negotiation are still trickling out, and in any case the nature of this framework is that various elements will be agreed upon on an ongoing basis rather than at once. But it is clear from available details that ECFA will be an ambitious accord that fundamentally changes the game between Taiwan and China and hence affects the regional economy and even the transpacific tempo for the United States.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Taiwan
9. Reform of the Global Financial Architecture
- Author:
- Edwin M. Truman and Garry J. Schinasi
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the implications of the global financial crisis of 2007–10 for reform of the global financial architecture, in particular the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board and their interaction. These two institutions are not fully comparable, but they must work more closely in the future to help prevent global financial crises. To this end, the paper identifies institutional and substantive reforms separately and in their joint work that would be desirable and appropriate.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, International Political Economy, Global Recession, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
10. Currency Wars?
- Author:
- William R. Cline and John Williamson
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- A widespread currency war is in prospect. The term was first introduced by Guido Mantega, the finance minster of Brazil. He envisaged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) developing an index that measures whether currencies are held artificially low to boost exports (popularly referred to as “currency manipulation”). If that IMF exercise did not lead to an easing of such exchange market intervention, he suggested that an undervalued exchange rate could eventually be considered a commercial subsidy.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- Brazil
11. Not All Financial Regulation Is Global
- Author:
- Nicolas Véron and Stéphane Rottier
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- “All politics is local,” as the saying goes, but all economics is global, and regulation is one area where these two realities meet and conflict. This has been particularly true for financial regulation in the wake of the unprecedented financial crisis.
- Topic:
- Economics, Genocide, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
12. The Future of the Chiang Mai Initiative: An Asian Monetary Fund?
- Author:
- C. Randall Henning
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- In September 1997, at the outset of the last global financial crisis, the Japanese Ministry of Finance proposed the creation of an Asian Monetary Fund. Although this particular proposal was scuttled, the idea of a common regional fund on which East Asian governments might draw in times of financial turmoil survives. The region's disaffection from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stemming from the 1997–98 crisis, sustains this idea and a desire on the part of individual countries to self-insure with large holdings of foreign exchange reserves. East Asian governments and central banks have created a set of bilateral swap arrangements (BSAs) dubbed the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) and are negotiating among themselves to build these BSAs into a more comprehensive facility. Some Asian officials hope that such a facility could underpin exchange rate cooperation and monetary integration in the region, although such proposals remain for the moment long-term visions.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Japan, Israel, and Asia
13. Energy Efficiency in Buildings: A Global Economic Perspective
- Author:
- Trevor Houser
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- At the 2008 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, G-8 leaders called for a 50 percent global reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 to avoid “the most serious consequences of climate change.” Meeting this goal will require transforming the way energy is produced, delivered, and consumed across all sectors of the economy and regions of the world. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the building sector alone will need to reduce annual emissions by 8.2 gigatons below business-as-usual by 2050, an amount equal to nearly one third of global emissions today (IEA 2008a).
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Japan
14. Understanding Special Drawing Rights
- Author:
- John Williamson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- A once-familiar but long-neglected acronym has reappeared in newspapers in recent weeks. We have read that the G-20 meeting in London endorsed a proposal that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should create $250 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). We have been told that one problem with this proposal is that most of the SDR allocation would accrue to countries that are unlikely to use them, and some readers may have seen proposed ways around this difficulty. We have read that the governor of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, has proposed that the SDR should gradually displace the dollar at the center of the international monetary system and that surplus countries should be able to convert their dollar holdings into SDR-denominated assets. No one can doubt that the SDR is back.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
15. A Security and Peace Mechanism for Northeast Asia: The Economic Dimension
- Author:
- Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- A continuing leitmotif of the Six Party Talks—among the United States, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and North Korea—is the prospect that a resolution of the nuclear question could set the stage for more institutionalized and enduring multilateral cooperation in Northeast Asia. The Joint Statement of September 19, 2005, which outlined the principles governing subsequent negotiations, referenced new “ways and means for promoting security cooperation in northeast Asia,” and the February 13, 2007 Joint Statement created a Working Group on a Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism (NEAPSM).
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, International Cooperation, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, South Korea, and North Korea
16. A Currency Basket for East Asia, Not Just China
- Author:
- John Williamson
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- China recently announced that it is adopting a basket of currencies as the peg for its exchange rate instead of the US dollar. This announcement raises questions of how such a system works, whether other East Asian countries would be advised to follow China in adopting a basket numeraire, and whether it would be advantageous to these countries if they were all to adopt the same basket. This brief answers these questions.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Israel, East Asia, and Asia