Podcast Directory

Episodes

Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy addressed how the economic situation in his country and Europe may affect the world economy. He delivered his remarks at the Peterson Institute on February 9, 2012, during his first visit in office to the United States.

The Peterson Institute released its new book, Sustaining China's Economic Growth after the Global Financial Crisis, on February 1, 2012. The study, by Senior Fellow Nicholas R. Lardy, focuses on how the Chinese government's financial, exchange rate, and pricing policies have led to growing internal and external imbalances. Lardy argues that China must adopt a fundamentally new model to continue economic growth, avoid the accumulation of unsustainable asset positions, and contribute to the rebalancing of the global economy.

The Peterson Institute hosted a meeting to discuss the euro area crisis on January 19, 2012, releasing two new papers on the topic at that time: a relatively pessimistic analysis by Senior Fellows Peter Boone and Simon Johnson along with a relatively optimistic piece by C. Fred Bergsten and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard. The authors presented both viewpoints followed by audience questions.

The Peterson Institute held a symposium on "A Sustainable Energy Trade Agreement," November 7, 2011, cosponsored with the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). Their proposal for a sustainable energy trade agreement (SETA) offers a promising new way to mobilize the trading system to mitigate the effects of climate change, an urgent challenge in light of the impasse over the Doha Development Round. The symposium explored some exciting new avenues for trade and the global environment in the post-Doha world.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics released its latest study, Global Trade in Services: Fear, Facts, and Offshoring, by J. Bradford Jensen, on October 18, 2011. The book breaks new ground in analyzing the extent to which US services are tradable and fills many of the previous empirical gaps on the size, scope, and potential impact of services trade. It makes a series of bold policy recommendations for the United States to promote access to foreign markets for its services exports, especially since the coming global boom in infrastructure spending will be of historic proportions. The book also addresses fears concerning offshoring of US services activities and finds that they are greatly overstated.

William Rhodes, the long-time senior international executive of Citibank and dean of global debt negotiators, delivered a speech entitled "Lessons Learned from Past Debt Crises for Today's Problems in Europe and the United States" at the Peterson Institute for International Economics on September 28, 2011. His speech was based on his new book Banker to the World.

The Peterson Institute hosted a meeting on September 27, 2011, to release A Decade of Debt by Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. The book traces the surge of public and private debt to record levels and, on the basis of extensive historical analysis, finds a strong association with slower economic growth and increased likelihood of debt restructurings. Another key result tends to be the role of "financial repression," and its contribution to debt reduction.

Senior Fellow Arvind Subramanian presented the findings of his forthcoming book, Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China's Economic Dominance, at a meeting held September 19, 2011. The book analyzes the impact of the widespread use of flexible rates over the past 40 years and concludes that it is by far the best exchange rate system for virtually all countries. It compares the results of countries that float with those deploying alternative regimes and suggests policy changes for the latter.

Changyong Rhee of the Asian Development Bank spoke at the Peterson Institute, September 22, 2011, about the economic performance of the Asia and Pacific region as assessed by the ADB's Asian Development Outlook 2011 Update.

The Peterson Institute hosted a meeting on September 22, 2011, to discuss the economic and political situation in Europe with Dr. Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs. Commissioner Rehn is one of the key architects of Europe's efforts to resolve its economic and financial crisis. At the meeting, Rehn addressed Europe's current economic condition and provided a progress report on the European Union's most recent decisions to fight financial instability and promote European growth. He also discussed the European strategy's impact on the global economy.

Senior Fellow Joseph E. Gagnon presented the findings of his forthcoming book, Flexible Exchange Rates for a Stable World Economy, at a meeting held September 19, 2011. The book analyzes the impact of the widespread use of flexible rates over the past 40 years and concludes that it is by far the best exchange rate system for virtually all countries. It compares the results of countries that float with those deploying alternative regimes and suggests policy changes for the latter.

The Peterson Institute hosted its twentieth semiannual Global Economic Prospects program September 9, 2011. Senior Fellow Michael Mussa projected the world economy for the rest of 2011 and 2012. PIIE's new Dennis Weatherstone Senior Fellow Carmen M. Reinhart discussed the debt and deficit profiles facing the United States and their implications for the economic outlook. Senior Fellow Simon Johnson analyzed recent developments in the euro area both for the region itself and for the rest of the world.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Greece, Evangelos Venizelos, delivered a speech entitled "The Greek Debt Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities" at the Peterson Institute for International Economics on July 25, 2011. His presentation at the Institute was his only public appearance during his visit to Washington to meet with top IMF and US officials to discuss the Greek reform program and financing for it.

The Institute released a comprehensive new analysis entitled "Europe on the Brink" by Senior Fellow Simon Johnson and Nonresident Visiting Fellow Peter Boone. The authors analyze the moral hazard financial system that Europe has created and outline three possible scenarios for what might happen in coming months as the crisis deepens. Following the authors' presentations, Research Fellow and Europe expert Jacob Funk Kirkegaard made brief comments.

PIIE Senior Fellow Anders Åslund and Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis of Latvia presented the main findings of their new book, How Latvia Came through the Financial Crisis, published by the Institute and released on July 14, 2011. IMF Mission Chief to Latvia Mark Griffiths and PIIE Senior Fellow Simon Johnson offered comments on the book and led the discussion following the authors' presentations.

On July 7, 2011, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings and the Atlantic Council cohosted a conference to address governance issues in Ukraine. The conference opened with a discussion with Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin. Panels with leading American and European experts examined "The Challenges of Governance in Ukraine" and "The Impact on the Economy and Foreign Policy." In a keynote discussion, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor, offered brief comments and took audience questions.

The Peterson Institute released a new Policy Brief, America's Energy Security Options, by PIIE Visiting Fellow Trevor Houser and Shashank Mohan of the Rhodium Group, at a meeting held June 30, 2011. Rising oil prices and instability in the Middle East have forced energy security back into the forefront of American political debate. In recent months the Obama Administration and Congressional leaders have put forward a range of proposed remedies, from expanded domestic oil production to accelerated deployment of natural gas and electric vehicles.

Gary Clyde Hufbauer presented the key findings of a new Policy Brief entitled "Logistics Reform for Low-Value Shipments" at a Peterson Institute event held June 15, 2011. Low-value shipments are a little known but increasingly important component of international trade and are closely linked to the rapid growth in electronic commerce.

Agustín Carstens, Governor of the Central Bank of Mexico and a candidate to become Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, spoke at the Peterson Institute on June 13, 2011, while in Washington as part of his consultations concerning the IMF position. He addressed the topic of "Why the World Needs an Effective and Independent IMF." Event materials are available online.

Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo presented his perspective on the upcoming international discussions on reform of financial regulation at a Peterson Institute event held June 3, 2011.  Tarullo, who will be representing the United States in these talks, focused on the conceptual and practical issues surrounding these discussions.  He also related the international conversation to the domestic requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act and addressed the topic of higher capital requirements for financial firms that have global systemic significance. He is the author of Banking on Basel: The Future of International Financial Regulation (PIIE, 2008).

Event materials are available online.

The Peterson Institute released the new book Foreign Direct Investment and Development: Launching a Second Generation of Policy Research, by Senior Fellow Theodore H. Moran, on June 1, 2011.  Moran's remarks concentrated on three distinctive areas: 1) FDI in the extractive sector and the challenge of creating a level anticorruption playing field for investors of all nationalities; 2) using FDI in manufacturing to upgrade and diversify the host country's export base; and 3) the new agenda for corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. Lars Thunell, Executive Vice President and CEO of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, led the discussion following Moran's presentation and commented on many aspects of the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and development.

Top budget expert Peter Orszag discussed the outlook for US fiscal deficits and possible remedies at the Peterson Institute on May 26, 2011. Dr. Orszag led US policy on this set of issues during 2009-10 as President Obama's initial director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).