Paulson's First Challenge
Morris Goldstein (TIE) Jul/Sep 2006
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson should implement a three-pronged strategy to encourage China to move faster on renminbi appreciation. First, he should make it clear that China must make a significant down payment before November 2006—on the order of a 10 to 15 percent appreciation from its current level—toward reducing the large undervaluation of the renminbi with respect to the dollar. Second, he should insist that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) exercise firm surveillance over the exchange rate policies of its member countries. Finally, he should indicate that the United States is prepared both to make its own contribution toward reducing global payments imbalances and to work with other countries to i mprove the analytical framework underpinning IMF surveillance over exchange rate policies.
A Guide to the IMF: Making a Difference
IMF Survey Sep 1, 2006
Plus: The IMF and low-income Asia; Setting a New Course, the IMF's Medium-Term Strategy; 10 Events that Shaped the IMF, a historical overview; Running the IMF, organization and finances; the IMF Executive Board, country representation and votes; Promoting Healthy Economies, economic surveillance and crisis prevention; Helping When Things Go Wrong, crisis resolution; Getting Back on Track, lending and conditionality; How the IMF Lends, terms and conditions of financial facilities; Passing on Know-How, technical assistance and training; Striving for a Better Life, poverty reduction and debt relief; Increasing IMF Transparency and Accountability, the Independent Evaluation Office; At a Glance - key IMF indicators; chart of how the IMF is organized.
The World Bank's China Delusions
Weijian Shan (WSJ) Sep 1, 2006
Bad loans are nothing new to China's banks.
Reform at the IMF
WP Sep 2, 2006
And a lesson for the United Nations.
Inversion and reversion
Economist Sep 5, 2006
Some things are too good to last.
The Protectionist Backlash
Gordon Brown (WSJ) Sep 6, 2006
The world is drifting into a new and dangerous protectionism.
Just Say No to Subsidies
WSJ Sep 6, 2006
Take away the begging bowl for another big Airbus project.
Help Wanted: Leadership in World Trade
Charles Finny (TCS Daily) Sep 7, 2006
The position of world leader in free trade that was occupied by the United States since the end of the Second World War is now vacant. Who will step up?
Battle Royale
WSJ Sep 7, 2006
In France, protectionist vs. protectionist.
Meeting the Challenges of 21st Century Globalization: The Medium-Term Strategy of the IMF
Rodrigo de Rato (IMF) Sep 8, 2006
The Medium-Term Strategy is motivated by the central insight that the world is changing fast, and that the Fund needs to adapt to help our members deal with the challenges of 21st century globalization.
Big Oil's New Conspiracy
Pejman Yousefzadeh (TCS Daily) Sep 8, 2006
We have heard much in recent months about the plot by oil companies to gouge consumers at the pump. Now, I am writing to report another insidious plot on the part of Big Oil. They are scheming to lower prices.
Making Globalization Work
Joseph Stiglitz (Guardian/YaleGlobal) Sep 8, 2006
Economic globalization has outpaced the globalization of politics and mindsets – it's time for change.
Annual meetings curtain raiser
IMF Survey Sep 11, 2006
Plus: APD Director Burton on IMF role in Asia; Briefs on Bolivia, Indonesia; WEO: rising Asia and nonfuel commodity prices; GFSR: global financial system; euro area recovery; U.S. capital inflows; facts about Singapore.
Has the World Bank Lost Control?
Adam Lerrick (TCS Daily) Sep 11, 2006
In the end, it is the demands that are at the very center of the World Bank's mission that will be sacrificed to maintain competitiveness.
Managing Globalization: As Doha round sputters, it's back to basic definitions
IHT Sep 12, 2006
Efforts by leading industrial and developing nations to resuscitate global free trade talks known as the Doha round fizzled last weekend in Rio de Janeiro. But globalization marches on.
Singapore Protests
WSJ Sep 13, 2006
Tight curbs during the World Bank-IMF meetings.
Doha Round Starting To Thaw?
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 29 Sep 13, 2006
Six weeks after they were suspended indefinitely due to deep differences on tariff and subsidy cuts, the Doha Round global trade negotiations remain frozen. Since the talks broke down in late July, trade ministers and heads of state from around the world have insisted that they are committed to getting the talks started again. However, little has been discussed in the way of specific new concessions that could spur the resumption of negotiations.
US Blocks Brazil Request For Compliance Panel In Cotton Case
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 29 Sep 13, 2006
Brazil on 1 September formally requested the establishment of a WTO panel to examine whether the US was in compliance with a series of rulings against its cotton subsidy programmes. The US blocked the creation of a panel at the meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). However, WTO rules prohibit it from doing so again should Brazil repeat its request.
U.S. rebukes Beijing for keeping yuan low
IHT Sep 13, 2006
The U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. said Wednesday that Chinese leaders were imperiling their nation's future by following economic policies that others see as unfair.
Wolfowitz Corruption Drive Rattles World Bank
NYT Sep 14, 2006
World Bank president Paul D. Wolfowitz's fight against corruption in poor countries has drawn criticism for its aggressive approach.
Trading on the Yuan
Stephen Green (WSJ) Sep 14, 2006
Revaluation is only going to come slowly.
The slippery slope
Economist Sep 14, 2006
A fall in the price of oil highlights the traps in commodity investment.
Doing Business in Latin America
Mary Anastasia O'Grady (WSJ) Sep 15, 2006
The IMF's raison d'ętre no longer exists.
WHO Calls for Spraying Controversial DDT to Fight Malaria
Betsy McKay (WSJ/YaleGlobal) Sep 15, 2006
Public-health officials in countries ravaged by malaria must choose between disease eradication and environmental protection.
Singapore braces to play host to IMF and the World Bank
IHT Sep 15, 2006
After a rebuke Friday from the World Bank president, the Singapore government reversed itself and agreed to allow more than 20 anti- globalization advocates into the country to attend the coming meetings of the bank and International Monetary Fund.
'Sweatshop snoops' take on China factories
IHT Sep 15, 2006
Child laborers caught hiding in a closet during an inspection of a handbag factory last year in the city of Zhongshan, southeastern China. Factories in China are using increasingly sophisticated methods to cover up widespread workplace violations, inspectors in the industry say.
IMF changes structure; Bank backs anti-graft plan
IHT Sep 18, 2006
Member states voted to amplify the voices of fast-developing nations like China.
Capitalism with a heart
IHT Sep 18, 2006
To a new generation of entrepreneurs, there's no conflict between capitalism and compassion.
IMF Role Under Threat as Asia Strengthens Its Own Crisis Group
Christopher Swann and Arijit Ghosh (Bloomberg) Sep 19, 2006
The International Monetary Fund's decision to give China and South Korea more clout may not be enough to reverse a loss of influence in Asia.
An Enduring Need: The Importance of Multilateralism in the 21st Century
Anne O. Krueger (IMF) Sep 19, 2006
Multilateralism has been the key to the huge economic successes of the past half century. My theme this evening is that the achievements of the multilateral economic system are increasingly underappreciated as it is ever more taken for granted, while the need for a well-functioning multilateral international economic system is greater than ever as globalization proceeds. I shall argue that the multilateral financial institutions have performed remarkably well in underpinning economic success of unimagined proportions over the past sixty years. However, just as we take the air we breathe for granted, so, too, do many now take those successes and the multilateral economic system underpinning them for granted. They ignore the "public good" benefits that the multilateral system provides and focus instead on a narrow view of the short-term costs and benefits to them.
Give Globalization a Hand
Ernesto Zedillo (Forbes/YaleGlobal) Sep 19, 2006
Some world problems require global cooperation and governance.
IMF Consultants Inc.
WSJ Sep 20, 2006
Bad economic advice, in search of new clients.
Building on Success: The Next Challenges for Microfinance
Robert Eichfeld & Henry Wendt (AEI) Sep 20, 2006
Expanding microfinance and integrating it with the global banking system have the potential to open doors of economic opportunity for hundreds of millions and unite communities in civil society networks.
Announcements of the IMF's Demise May Prove Premature
Desmond Lachman (AEI/FT) Sep 20, 2006
The timing of Martin Wolf's assertion that the IMF is in financial crisis because of its own success is curious.
Corruption? Ho-Hum
WSJ Sep 25, 2006
Welcome to the upside-down world of development aid.
Bouquet of Roses May Have Note: "Made in China"
Keith Bradsher (NYT) Sep 25, 2006
Impoverished workers in China deliver another luxury product to wealthy consumers elsewhere in the world at discount rates.
Love Thy (Asian) Neighbor
WSJ Sep 26, 2006
Regional animosity is springing up at a time when trade is on the rise.
Africa's glory
IHT Sep 26, 2006
The West should support the growing trend of poor countries that seek economic opportunities by protecting nature rather than pillaging it.
A visa policy that crushes Balkan hopes
IHT Sep 27, 2006
The EU's visa regime prohibiting the flow of people from Eastern Europe, is stifling in a world in which mobility is necessary for the development of a knowledge-based economy.
Why I Should Run the U.N.
NYT Sep 28, 2006
The Op-Ed page asked all seven candidates running for secretary general of the United Nations this fall how they would reform the organization if they are selected. Five candidates gave us their answers.
Davos Economics
WSJ Sep 28, 2006
America's fall from the top of the latest competitiveness rankings.
China lets currency rise at a rapid pace
IHT Sep 28, 2006
Some experts speculate that the more low-key approach by the U.S. may have influenced the Chinese decision to allow faster appreciation.
Offshoring Can Benefit Workers of All Skill Levels
R. Glenn Hubbard (TCS Daily) Sep 28, 2006
The offshoring debate of the past few years has obscured some basic insights from economics and about economic policy in a globalising world.
Tales from the Crypt
WSJ Sep 29, 2006
The weird science of World Economic Forum rankings.