Council of Councils
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Introduction
Over the last several decades, governments have collectively pledged to slow global warming. But despite intensified diplomacy, the world is already facing the consequences of climate…
Reimagining American Economic Leadership
Treasury Secretary Yellen Speaks at CFR
In a keynote speech for the Freidheim Symposium co-presented by the RealEcon initiative, Secretary Yellen laid out her vision for U.S. international economic policy.
Trade Offs
A regular series on the choices faced by international economic policymakers
How to Grapple With “the New Washington Consensus”
Featured Analysis From RealEcon
Exploring three key areas of international economic policy: trade and investment, development, and economic security, i.e., technology controls, supply-chain-resilience measures, and other policies to reduce risk to the economy or national security
Trade and Investment
Development
The Millennium Challenge Corporation at 20: Progress and Prospects
Event with Alice P. Albright, Gary R. Edson, Lynn Raymond Young, and Matthew P. Goodman
The Truth About Africa's "Debt Crisis"
Blog Post by Ebenezer Obadare
Mobilizing Clean Energy Financing through the Multilateral Development Banks
Blog Post by Brad W. Setser, Tess Turner and Michael Weilandt
Economic Security
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As Global Debt Explodes, China’s Central Bank Is Fueling and Obscuring It
China is using its central bank to prop up current and prospective Belt & Road clients. In the process, it is fueling and obscuring poorer-country debt problems.
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A Taxonomy of Sovereign Wealth Funds
Everyone seems to want a sovereign wealth fund these days. Even countries that have more sovereign debt than sovereign wealth are hot on the idea. It’s a hot topic. Over time, less and less of the growth of the foreign assets of the world’s governments has taken the form of traditional FX reserves, and more and more has taken the form of swelling sovereign wealth funds (see the chart below).
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China’s Imaginary Trade Data
China has a new way of calculating its good surplus in its formal balance of payments data. It is a deeply misleading. It also explains the apparent fall in the current account account surplus.
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The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the CHIPS and Science Act stand to transform U.S. infrastructure for decades to come. Policymakers should look to the successes and failures of the 1956 act that established the interstate system for guidance.
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In my new paper published by the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, I highlight the persistence of unhealthy globalization and lay out some proposals for a more sustainable regime.
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As the global economy realigns, the next U.S. president should formalize a liberal economic bloc of allied countries to stand up against authoritarian rivals.
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Laws meant to insulate domestic companies from foreign transactions are often implemented with little regard to the ensuing domestic costs. Those costs could undermine the national security goals of the laws.
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To stay competitive, the United States will need to strengthen and diversify the sources of its talent in STEM fields.
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The United States is witnessing a boom in manufacturing investment, stimulated by massive government subsidies, but the skilled workforce necessary to support it is severely lacking.
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New proposed rules on connected vehicles would keep China and Russia out of key parts of the automotive supply chain. But vulnerabilities in national security will remain until the U.S. establishes stronger data privacy protections.
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Trade deserves a better reputation. Increasing supply would improve the economy’s performance and the public’s perception of trade’s benefits.
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A decision by President Biden to block Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel would not be good policy or good politics.
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National security policymakers are understandably worried about economic risks, but they shouldn’t lose sight of other national interests.
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Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies
Aging is not only shrinking the labor force but damaging productivity—and therefore per capita GDP growth. -
The IMF should take a mulligan on the 2024 External Sector Report. The imbalance in China’s goods trade is expanding, not receding. It is too big for the IMF to ignore.