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Begin New Search Topic Globalization Publishing Institution Peterson Institute for International Economics

31. Global Imbalances: Time for Action

Author:
William R. Cline, John Williamson, Yung Chul Park, Alan J. Ahearne, Kyung Tae Lee, and Jean Pisani-Ferry
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
One of the principal dangers currently facing the world economy arises from the large and unsustainable imbalances in current account positions. Some observers argue that these imbalances will unwind gradually and nondisruptively, while others emphasize the risks of a sudden change of sentiment in financial markets that could result in an abrupt and damaging adjustment. No one knows which scenario will materialize, but a priori for policymakers should be to reduce the risks of a crisis, which could produce a world recession and disruptions to the global trading system. For that, the global economy requires official sponsorship of a credible, comprehensive adjustment program. This policy brief outlines such a program.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance

32. Living with Global Imbalances: A Contrarian View

Author:
Richard N. Cooper
Publication Date:
11-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Three propositions have become conventional wisdom in Washington and elsewhere. Americans save too little. As a consequence, the US current account deficit is unsustainably large. A necessary step to bring the global economy into sustainable balance is a significant appreciation of the Chinese currency, which in practice has been fixed to the dollar for over a decade.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Economics, and Globalization

33. Importers, Exporters, and Multinationals: A Portrait of Firms in the U.S. that Trade Goods

Author:
J. Bradford Jensen, Peter K. Schott, and Andrew B. Bernard
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
This paper provides an integrated view of globally engaged US firms by exploring a newly developed dataset that links US international trade transactions to longitudinal data on US enterprises. These data permit examination of a number of new dimensions of firm activity, including how many products firms trade, how many countries firms trade with, the characteristics of those countries, the concentration of trade across firms, whether firms transact at arm's length or with related parties, and whether firms import as well as export. Firms that trade goods play an important role in the United States, employing more than a third of the US workforce. We find that the most globally engaged US firms, i.e. those that both export to and import from related parties, dominate US trade flows and employment at trading firms. We also find that firms that begin trading between 1993 and 2000 experience especially rapid employment growth and are a major force in overall job creation.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States

34. What Might the Next Emerging-Market Financial Crisis Look Like?

Author:
Morris Goldstein and Anna Wong
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
This paper addresses the following question: If a financial crisis affecting a group of emerging economies were to take place sometime over the next three years, where would the crisis likely originate, how could it be transmitted to other economies, and which economies would be most affected by particular transmission or contagion mechanisms? A set of indicators is presented to gauge the vulnerability of individual emerging economies to various shocks, including a slowdown in import demand in both China and the United States, a fall in primary commodity prices, increased costs and lower availability of external financing, alternative patterns of exchange rate changes, and pressures operating on monetary and fiscal policies in emerging economies.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States and China

35. Postponing Global Adjustment: An Analysis of the Pending Adjustment of Global Imbalances

Author:
Edwin M. Truman
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Halving the US current account deficit as a share of GDP is likely to impose a burden of $2,350 per capita on the United States, which explains why US policymakers want to postpone adjustment. The rest of the world relies on the economic stimulus of a widening US external deficit, which explains why they are not eager to see global adjustment. The paper examines three scenarios of exchange rate adjustments, calls on the Federal Reserve to take more account of the external deficit in its words and policy actions, and familiarly notes the need for US fiscal adjustment as part of an efficient adjustment process. Complementary policies are required in the rest of the world. The paper discusses the pattern of recent international capital flows and proposes an international reserve diversification standard to remove some of the uncertainty about the management of foreign exchange reserves.
Topic:
Debt, Development, and Globalization
Political Geography:
United States

36. The Payoff from Globalization

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Paul L. E. Grieco
Publication Date:
05-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The battle over the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) promises a reprise of familiar themes. While contemporary commentators may connect their arguments to NAFTA, in fact the "modern" debate over trade barriers can be traced back to British Corn Laws. Enacted to protect land barons, the Corn Laws were finally repealed in 1846 to make way for what Martin Wolf has called the "first age of globalization."
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Central America

37. Will Globalization Survive?

Author:
Martin Wolf
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Ours is not the first age of globalization. The decades before the First World War were remarkably similar to our own era. Under the aegis of the United Kingdom and stimulated by a host of technological advances, the world enjoyed an era of liberal trade, remarkably free movement of people, and almost entirely free movement of capital. The world also enjoyed an unprecedented rise in prosperity. According to the economic historian, Angus Maddison, real GDP per head rose at a rate of 1.3 percent a year in the world as a whole between 1870 and 1913. This is not far short of the improvement of the past three decades. As table 1 shows, only Asia and Africa, both victims of colonialism, failed to share in the rising prosperity.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, Globalization, and War
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, and Asia

38. This is Bangalore Calling: Hang Up or Speed Dial? What Technology-Enable International Trade in Services Means for the US Economy

Author:
Catherine L. Mann
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Globalization, always a contentious issue, has become even more so with media reports of U.S. service-sector jobs being outsourced to emerging-market economies, such as call center operations to Ireland or programming jobs to India. Traditionally, these jobs have been considered “nontradable” and therefore safe from the competitive forces of international trade and investment. But increasingly, technological advances are making it easier to buy services from other companies, even those in developing countries, where savings in the cost of labor or the opportunity to use the 24- hour clock to speed product develop- ment can be irresistible.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States and Ireland

39. China Bashing 2004

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Yee Wong
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
On April 26, 2004, Senator John Kerry released his six-point trade pro - gram, “Trade Enforcement: Asleep at the Wheel,” and conspicuously targeted China for violating worker rights, dumping, and supporting “illegal currency manipulation” (Kerry 2004). Five days earlier, senior Bush administration officials met with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi to settle a few trade disputes (e.g., WiFi) but did not resolve the most contentious ones (exchange rates, semiconductors, and labor rights).
Topic:
Development, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
China and Asia

40. Islam, Globalization, and Economic Performance in the Middle East

Author:
Marcus Noland and Howard Pack
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The Middle East is a demographic time bomb. According to the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) Arab Human Development Report 2002, the population of the Arab region is expected to increase by around 25 percent between 2000 and 2010 and by 50 to 60 percent by 2020—or by perhaps 150 million people, a figure equivalent to more than two Egypts. Even under the UNDP's more conservative scenario, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates will be the only Arab countries in 2020 with median ages above 30.
Topic:
Development, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Middle East, Kuwait, Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates