INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
May 9, 2010
"Uncertainty vs. Risk"
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Niall Ferguson, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Niall Ferguson, a member of the Belfer Center's board of directors, wrote a review of "The Crisis of Capitalist Democracy," for the New York Times' Sunday Book Review.
AP Photo
April 23, 2010
"Back to Basics on Financial Reform"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Niall Ferguson, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Ted Forstmann
"In the aftermath, congressional Democrats are claiming that we can have three out of three. In effect, the bill introduced to the Senate by Christopher Dodd purports to prevent future depressions without sacrificing the efficiency of our financial markets or committing taxpayers to future bailouts of the banking system. This trifecta is not credible."
AP Photo
May/June 2010
"Bigger is Better: A Case for a Transatlantic Economic Union"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Foreign Affairs
By Richard N. Rosecrance, Adjunct Professor; International Security Program; Director, Project on U.S.-China Relations
After World War II, "trading states" seemed to be charting a new path forward. But small was not beautiful. Even great powers found themselves negotiating larger markets through economic associations with others. It's time the United States became such a power.
AP Photo
March 30, 2010
"The Euro Has Reason to Strengthen"
Op-Ed, The Korea Herald
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"An American traveler in Paris or Berlin is continually struck by how high prices are relative to those in the United States. A hotel room, a simple lunch, or a man's shirt all cost more at today's exchange rate than they would in New York or Chicago. To bring the cost of those goods and services down to the level in the U.S. would require the euro to fall relative to the dollar by about 15 percent, to around $1.10," says Martin Feldstein.
March 24, 2010
"The End of Chimerica: Amicable Divorce or Currency War?"
Testimony
By Niall Ferguson, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Niall Ferguson testifies before the House Committee on Ways and Means about restructuring the economic relations between the United States and China.
February 11, 2010
"Flunking crisis management 101"
Op-Ed, On Leadership at washingtonpost.com
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Toyota's severe problems stem as much from poor crisis management as from poor product quality. In all industrial companies, problems may develop in products. The question is: How does the business respond? When products have serious potential safety issues like Toyota's sticking accelerator pedal, then crisis management becomes the company's stress test."
AP Photo
February 11, 2010
"A Greek Crisis is Coming to America"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Niall Ferguson, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"...[T]he idiosyncrasies of the eurozone should not distract us from the general nature of the fiscal crisis that is now afflicting most western economies. Call it the fractal geometry of debt: the problem is essentially the same from Iceland to Ireland to Britain to the US. It just comes in widely differing sizes."
AP Images
February 10, 2010
"Where Are the Global Anti-Corruption Leaders?"
Op-Ed, The Atlantic
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The BAE and Siemens cases are symbols of pervasive corruption across the globe and lack of senior leadership making anti-corruption an international imperative. Bribery and extortion in public sector activities--especially in the developing world--distorts competition, erodes legitimacy and rule of law, impedes economic growth, thwarts building of institutional infrastructure, injures the poor and supports criminals and terrorists who pose a threat to world order."
AP Photo
January 31, 2010
"How to Reform Our Financial System"
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Paul Volcker, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"What we do need is protection against the outliers. There are a limited number of investment banks (or perhaps insurance companies or other firms) the failure of which would be so disturbing as to raise concern about a broader market disruption. In such cases, authority by a relevant supervisory agency to limit their capital and leverage would be important, as the president has proposed."
AP Photo
December 7, 2009
"An Empire at Risk"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Newsweek
By Niall Ferguson, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Military experts talk as if the president's decision about whether to send an additional 40,000 troops to Afghanistan is a make-or-break moment. In reality, his indecision about the deficit could matter much more for the country's long-term national security. Call the United States what you like-superpower, hegemon, or empire-but its ability to manage its finances is closely tied to its ability to remain the predominant global military power."
