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Did you know that all of the growth in federal spending as a percentage of the national income is due to the growth of "uncontrollables"? In this interview, we discuss the following: ►What are "uncontrollables"? Why are they 'mandatory'? ►What are entitlements? How are they treated differently than discretionary budget spending? ►What was the Budget Resolution Process that was introduced in the 1970s? ►How did Pres. Cleveland, Roosevelt (FDR), Reagan and Clinton control government budget? ►Which president reduced our entitlement programs the most? ►What was FDR's biggest mistake, the consequences of which still impacts us? ►What are the 3 requirements for reducing the budget deficit? ►How would my guest advise a U.S. president in reducing our budget deficit?
Stefan Link, a 2023-24 CASBS fellow, chats with Barry Eichengreen, a 1996-97 CASBS fellow and world renowned for his expertise at the nexus of international economics and economic history. They discuss some of Eichengreen's most prominent works — including "The European Economy Since 1945," which emerged from his CASBS experience, and "Golden Fetters," his most cited book — interrogating their durability and applicability to contemporary industrial, financial, and monetary policy challenges and governance.BARRY EICHENGREEN: UC Berkeley faculty page | Homepage & CV | on Wikipedia | STEFAN LINK: CASBS bio | Dartmouth faculty page | Mentioned in the episode:Eichengreen's talk on "Steering Structural Change" (session 2) at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (16 April 2024)Eichengreen & Temin NBER paper on "The Gold Standard and the Great Depression" (June 1997)Select Eichengreen booksElusive Stability: Essays in the History of International Finance 1919-1939 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1990)Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression 1919-1939 (Oxford Univ. Press, 1992)International Monetary Arrangements for the 21st Century (Brookings Institution, 1994)Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System (Princeton Univ. Press, 1994)European Monetary Unification: Theory, Practice, and Analysis (MIT Press, 1997)Toward a New International Financial Architecture: A Practical Post-Asia Agenda (Peterson Institute for International Economics, 1999)Financial Crises and What to Do About Them (Oxford Univ. Press, 2002)Capital Flows and Crises (MIT Press, 2004)Global Imbalances and the Lessons of Bretton Woods (MIT Press, 2006)The European Economy Since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond (Princeton Univ. Press, 2006)Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System (Oxford Univ. Press, 2012)Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, the Great Recession, and the Uses — and Misuses — of History (Oxford Univ. Press, 2015) Stefan Link bookForging Global Fordism: Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and the Contest over the Industrial Order (Princeton Univ. Press, 2020)Winner of the Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, as well as the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize, American Historical Association Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford UniversityExplore CASBS: website|Twitter|YouTube|LinkedIn|podcast|latest newsletter|signup|outreachHuman CenteredProducer: Mike Gaetani | Engineer & co-producer: Joe Monzel |
Dr. Barry Eichengreen, George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Political Science at University of California, Berkeley, joins Forward Guidance alongside Joseph Wang, CIO of Monetary Macro and writer at FedGuy.com, to discuss his paper at the Federal Reserve's 2023 Jackson Hole symposium, “Living with High Public Debt.” Professor Eichengreen also shares his findings on the U.S. dollar's role as a global reserve currency (“dollar dominance”), financial repression, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and he also shares his views on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Filmed on November 28, 2023. Dr. Eichengreen's 2023 Jackson Hole paper, “Living With High Public Debt”: https://www.kansascityfed.org/Jackson%20Hole/documents/9749/Living_With_High_Public_SA_Sep_2_2023.pdf Complete agenda for 2023 Jackson Hole Symposium: https://www.kansascityfed.org/research/jackson-hole-economic-symposium/jackson-hole-economic-policy-symposium-structural-shifts-in-the-global-economy/ More information on Dr. Eichengreen's work: https://eml.berkeley.edu/~eichengr/ __ Use code FG20 to get 20% off Blockworks' Digital Asset Summit in March: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2024-london __ Follow Dr. Barry Eichengreen on Twitter https://twitter.com/B_Eichengreen Follow Joseph Wang on Twitter https://twitter.com/FedGuy12 Joseph's writings can be found at https://fedguy.com/ Follow Jack Farley on Twitter https://twitter.com/JackFarley96 Follow Forward Guidance on Twitter https://twitter.com/ForwardGuidance Follow Blockworks on Twitter https://twitter.com/Blockworks_ __ Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:33) High Levels of Debt Relative to GDP Are Problematic (06:07) Ways By Which Debt-to-GDP Ratios Can Be Lowered (14:08) Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lead To A Productivity Miracle? (19:58) How Bad Does It Have To Get Before A Global Reserve Currency Gets Dethroned? (26:31) Central Banks Are Buying More Gold (30:31) What Could Erode Dollar's Dominant Position In The World (40:39) Dr. Eichengreen's Views On Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) (46:05) Is Central Bank Independence Something That's Here To Stay? (49:16) Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) (59:49) Dr. Eichengreen's Future Work On China's Economic Slowdown __ Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Forward Guidance should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.
In recent years, the absolute level of government debt around the world has risen dramatically. The Covid emergency unleashed a huge wave of public-sector spending in 2020 and beyond. Meanwhile, spending remains high for other reasons, including public investment on climate and energy-related issues. So what does that mean for policy going forward? What does it mean for central banks tasked with controlling inflation? University of California at Berkeley economist Barry Eichengreen presented a paper on exactly this topic at this year's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. On this episode, we speak with Eichengreen about his research, why it's of importance to central bankers, and what history says about the prospects for fiscal consolidation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
University of California at Berkeley economist Barry Eichengreen presented a paper on ballooning government debt at this year's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. On this bonus content episode of the Odd Lots podcast, Joe and Tracy speak with Eichengreen about his research, why it's of importance to central bankers, and what history says about the prospects for fiscal consolidation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sovereign debt history of empires, city-states, early republics & parliaments, and democracies. On August 1, Fitch Ratings downgraded America's credit ratings from AAA to AA6+, which means that Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark now have a better credit rating than we do. Fitch Ratings' stated reason for this month's downgrade is "erosion of governance" in the U.S., which makes sense. Back in June, we were on the brink of a national default - thanks to our politicians who were playing political chicken with our nation's debt. And if you recall, back in 2011, during another debt-ceiling standoff between the Congress and the White House, Standard and Poor's downgraded the U.S. government credit rating one notch below the top grade. (WSJ, 8/1/23). But does this Fitch Rating's downgrade really matter? Just last week, Greg Ip, the Chief Economics Commentator at The Wall Street Journal, a senior financial reporter whom I've followed and read for many years, asked the same question. And then, answered it. Yes, it does matter. The risk has to do with rising deficits and interest rates. (WSJ 8/9/2023). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that we'll continue to run a federal budget deficit, which it projects will reach 11.1% in the next 30 years. (WSJ, 7/27/23). The CBO also estimates that by 2029, the federal government will spend more on paying interest on our national debt than it will spend on our national defense. (NYTimes, 7/5/2023). So, is public debt a bad thing, something to entirely get rid of? Not exactly! To better public debt, its history and its useful implementations, I read Dr. Barry Eichengreen's book, In Defense of Public Debt, and invited him to our program. In this conversation, Dr. Eichengreen tells us when government borrowing started and for what purpose. Hint: the prime purpose of government borrowing in the past was war! Most of this discussion with Dr. Eichengreen, as you will note, takes place in the historical context of European countries. This is because Europeans borrowed more frequently than countries in Asia and Africa. Naturally, my follow-up question is why. The answer, once again, has to do with war! In this episode, we also talk about the role of central banks. Here, things get complicated. Dr. Eichengreen also answers this question: do democracies demand more debt? He also tells us how a democracy, such as ours, can run a surplus and eventually solve its public debt problem. To learn more about Dr. Eichengreen (UC Berkeley Economics), you can visit his academic homepage. Listen to Dr. Eichengreen's episode about the U.S. dollar & cryptocurrency. Of course, we cannot talk about America's public debt without also addressing our hemorrhaging entitlement programs. Dr. John Cogan (Stanford University and the Hoover Institution), tells the history of America's entitlement programs, including describing how Americans in the upper half of the income distribution receive humungous entitlement benefits and anecdotes such as Civil War pension still being paid in 2020! Click here to listen. I hope you enjoy these episodes. Adel Host of the History Behind News podcast Watch my guests & I on YouTube SUPPORT: Click here and join our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jake Eichengreen and Nick Farmer. Jake and Nick are both second years in the Full-Time MBA Class of 2023, and they have co-founded Tuckamore Development Partners, a venture focused on decarbonizing the built environment by building a network of fabrication facilities close to major North American markets to accelerate the adoption of mass timber building materials as a replacement for high-carbon concrete and steel. Jake and Nick reflect upon their respective MBA journeys, the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Darden, what they gained by participating in UVA's Entrepreneurship Cup (E-Cup) and more.
In Episode 294 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley, Barry Eichengreen. In his first appearance on this podcast nearly five years ago, Dr. Eichengreen discussed the legacy of the Great Moderation, a multi-decade period of low inflation and positive economic growth that lasted between the mid-1980s and the onset of the Great Financial Crisis. Since then, developed economies have experienced a period of lackluster growth known as “secular stagnation,” characterized by historically low-interest rates, persistently low inflation, and growing levels of social and political instability. The question that Dr. Eichengreen and Demetri wrestle with in this conversation is whether the current period of higher inflation and rising interest rates is a temporary phenomenon or if we are entering a new economic paradigm where sovereign debt levels become unmanageable, multilateral cooperation breaks down, and state power grows at the expense of capital and labor. Their conversation includes a discussion about the future of the US dollar, the potential internationalization of the Chinese Yuan, the crisis brewing in the Japanese bond market, and the role of gold and other commodities as potential reserve assets in a world where fiat-based collateral comes increasingly under stress. You can subscribe to our premium content and gain access to our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page. If you still have questions, feel free to email info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone else from our team will get right back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 01/17/2023
Former US House Speaker Paul Ryan and Professor Barry Eichengreen join Governors Bredesen and Haslam for an informative conversation about our $31 Trillion national debt. Ryan, now a guest lecturer at Notre Dame and Visiting Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, says our debt burden is a serious risk, both to our currency and ability to provide for future needs. UC Berkeley's Eichengreen suggests that some debt is “good” and may be a necessity in times of war or pandemics.
Is a strong U.S. dollar good for us Americans? Is it good for Europeans, specifically those whose currency is the Euro? How about emerging countries? Is a strong U.S. dollar good for them? What if those emerging markets borrow in dollars? Then, wouldn't a strong dollar make servicing those debts more difficult for them? And if so, should the Federal Reserve - America's central bank, take the economic well-being of other countries, e.g., developing nations, into consideration when it sets and changes its monetary policies? Hm! Believe it or not, this issue has been raised in international conferences. For answers to all these questions, we speak with Professor Barry Eichengreen, the Chair and Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley. Dr. Eichengreen has won many prestigious awards for teaching and his scholarship, and he was named one of Foreign Policy Magazine's 100 Leading Global Thinkers in 2011. He is a past president of the Economic History Association, and a Research Associate of the NBER. In this episode, Dr. Eichengreen talks about the history of the dollar's valuation - from its zenith to its nadir, and provides many anecdotes that liven the discussions (think pizza coins). And here is the link to my previous conversation with Dr. Eichengreen about cryptocurrency (S2E12). I hope you enjoy these two episodes, Adel Host of the History Behind News podcast HIGHLIGHTS: get podcast highlights in your inbox. SUPPORT: please click here and join our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.
bto - beyond the obvious 2.0 - der neue Ökonomie-Podcast von Dr. Daniel Stelter
Die neue Welt der Staatsschulden ist unser Thema in der 132. Folge von „bto 2.0 – der Ökonomie-Podcast mit Dr. Daniel Stelter“. Bis vor kurzem verpönt, werden sie in Deutschland zur Normalität. Gute Entwicklung oder Baustein zum Niedergang? Wofür darf der Staat Schulden machen und für was nicht? Wäre das Ende von Sparzwang und Schwarzer Null ein Freibrief für Staatsschulden? Im Gespräch dazu der amerikanische Wirtschaftswissenschaftler Prof. Dr. Barry Eichengreen von der Universität Berkeley in Kalifornien. Er ist einer der Autoren des Buches In Defense of Public Debt (dt. Zur Verteidigung von Staatsschulden). Täglich neue Analysen, Kommentare und Einschätzungen zur Wirtschafts- und Finanzlage finden Sie unter www.think-bto.com. Sie erreichen die Redaktion unter podcast@think-bto.com. Wir freuen uns über Ihre Meinungen, Anregungen und Kritik. Shownote CLARK-Versicherungsapp: Für bto-Hörer ein BestChoice Shopping Gutschein von CLARK in Höhe von bis zu 30 Euro: Anmeldung mit dem Code „BTO“ – bitte in Großbuchstaben – unter www.clark.de (Deutschland), www.goclark.at (Österreich) oder direkt in der App. Neukunden erhalten einen 15-Euro-BestChoice-Shopping-Gutschein für die erste in die App hochgeladene bestehende Versicherung (ausgeschlossen Gesetzliche Krankenkasse, Altersvorsorge, ADAC-Mitgliedschaften) und bei zwei Versicherungen einen 30-Euro-BestChoice-Shopping-Gutschein. Der Shopping-Gutschein kann bei Brands wie H&M, Zalando, AppStore, AboutYou, Amazon und vielen anderen eingelöst werden. Alle BestChoice-Brands hier. Gutscheinversand, nachdem die Versicherungen als gültig bestätigt worden sind. Teilnahmebedingungen auf https://www.clark.de/de/teilnahmebedingungen/podcast15
Does the history of the U.S. Civil War have anything to teach about our time? Yes, a lot. I know! This does sound amazing, even a bit fantastic. But our guest, Roger Lowenstein, who has written several New York Times bestsellers, makes sense of it all and brings the perspective of the past to make sense of our present. Examples include cries of blasphemy for the introduction of paper money, general Grant's and Sherman's frustration with the Union policy of buying cotton from the South while waging war against it (this is not a typo), and the Southern elite's delusion that secession won't lead to war. And somehow, Mr. Lowenstein connects these rich stories from the past to their current counterparts. Visit his homepage to learn more about his many books and other publications, as well as his passions and projects. I hope you enjoy this episode and learn some about our present challenges from the U.S. Civil War. Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast Bitcoins from a volcano! Prof. Eichengreen, S2E12 20% inflation? Prof. White, S2E11 Federal Reserve's, history. Mr. Lowenstein, S1E18 U.S. Economy Series SUPPORT: To continue our free podcast program, we depend on our listeners' support. So please click this link https://anchor.fm/the-peel-news/support and join our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.
Will a host of privately minted cryptocurrencies displace the U.S. dollar? Professor Eichengreen tells us about a period in which private American banks issued their own notes. It was a chaotic time that ended with the Civil War. Why does this matter? Because not only is cryptocurrency all the rage with investors but also the U.S. government is getting into the game. The Federal Reserve had been studying digital dollars, and President Biden recently issued a cryptocurrency executive order. Our guest, Mr. Barry Eichengreen, is a Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and he is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (London, England). Prof. Eichengreen is the author of Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System (see Amazon). His latest article is "Digital Currencies - More than a Passing Fad?" In this episode, he answers questions like what is cryptocurrency? What is it used for and are there different types? What percentage of world trade is conducted in U.S. dollars and will cryptocurrency endanger the dollar's dominance? Why are countries such as Iran, China and Venezuela interested in cryptocurrency? And what about El Salvador? Is it a joke that they want to harness the power of a volcano to mint Bitcoins? I hope you enjoy this episode and gain some perspective about the history of the U.S. dollar, its dominance and the rise of the digital dollar. Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast U.S. Economy Series SUPPORT: To continue our free podcast program, we depend on our listeners' support. So please click this link https://anchor.fm/the-peel-news/support and join our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.
Much has been said and written about the dangers of government borrowing. In their new book, In Defense of Public Debt, economic historian Barry Eichengreen and his co-authors trace the evolution of sovereign debt from the wars of medieval Europe through the Covid-19 crisis, illustrating public debt's many positive uses, from reacting to financial crises to building public works. In this podcast, Eichengreen discusses the book with Finance and Development Magazine's Chris Wellisz. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3ec6Hvj
La Fundación Rafael del Pino organizó, el 28 de octubre de 2021, la conferencia en directo a través de www.frdelpino.es titulada «La globalización del capital» que impartirá Barry Eichengreen, con motivo de la publicación de la tercera edición de la versión española de la obra de Barry Eichengreen de igual título publicada por Antoni Bosch Editor. Tras la conferencia el profesor Eichengreen dialogó con Manuel Conthe. Barry Eichengreen es profesor George C. Pardee y Helen N. Pardee de Economía y Ciencias Políticas en la Universidad de California, Berkeley, investigador del Centro para la Investigación de Política Económica e investigador asociado de la Oficina Nacional de Investigación Económica. Asimismo, es coordinador del Grupo Bellagio de estudiosos y funcionarios gubernamentales, miembro de la Academia Estadounidense de Artes y Ciencias (promoción de 1997) y ha sido profesor asociado en el Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias del Comportamiento (Palo Alto) y en el Instituto de Estudios Avanzados (Berlín). Manuel Conthe es Columnista y presidente del Consejo Asesor de Expansión. Manuel Conthe es árbitro internacional español independiente. Abogado y economista, y antiguo regulador del mercado de valores, es un experto reconocido en finanzas, mercados energéticos, transacciones de fusiones y adquisiciones, valoración de daños y perjuicios y, de forma más general, litigios económicos y corporativos. Anteriormente, en calidad de funcionario del Reino de España, fue Director General de Transacciones e Inversiones extranjeras (1987-1988), Director General del Tesoro y Política Financiera (1988-1995), Secretario de Estado de Economía (1995-1996), Vice-presidente para el Sector Financiero en el Banco Mundial (1999-2002) y Presidente de la CNMV (2004-2007). Fue también Socio de una consultora financiera (2002-2004). Durante sus años en Bruselas (1996-1999) como Asesor Jefe de Asuntos Económicos y Comerciales en la Representación Española ante la Unión Europea, estuvo muy implicado en negociaciones sobre comercio internacional e inversiones así como en paneles de arbitraje de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC). Es autor de tres libros sobre paradojas económicas y políticas, teoría de juegos y sesgos cognitivos en derecho y economía (“Behavioral Law & Economics”).
La Fundación Rafael del Pino organizó, el 28 de octubre de 2021, la conferencia en directo a través de www.frdelpino.es titulada «La globalización del capital» que impartirá Barry Eichengreen, con motivo de la publicación de la tercera edición de la versión española de la obra de Barry Eichengreen de igual título publicada por Antoni Bosch Editor. Tras la conferencia el profesor Eichengreen dialogó con Manuel Conthe. Barry Eichengreen es profesor George C. Pardee y Helen N. Pardee de Economía y Ciencias Políticas en la Universidad de California, Berkeley, investigador del Centro para la Investigación de Política Económica e investigador asociado de la Oficina Nacional de Investigación Económica. Asimismo, es coordinador del Grupo Bellagio de estudiosos y funcionarios gubernamentales, miembro de la Academia Estadounidense de Artes y Ciencias (promoción de 1997) y ha sido profesor asociado en el Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias del Comportamiento (Palo Alto) y en el Instituto de Estudios Avanzados (Berlín). Manuel Conthe es Columnista y presidente del Consejo Asesor de Expansión. Manuel Conthe es árbitro internacional español independiente. Abogado y economista, y antiguo regulador del mercado de valores, es un experto reconocido en finanzas, mercados energéticos, transacciones de fusiones y adquisiciones, valoración de daños y perjuicios y, de forma más general, litigios económicos y corporativos. Anteriormente, en calidad de funcionario del Reino de España, fue Director General de Transacciones e Inversiones extranjeras (1987-1988), Director General del Tesoro y Política Financiera (1988-1995), Secretario de Estado de Economía (1995-1996), Vice-presidente para el Sector Financiero en el Banco Mundial (1999-2002) y Presidente de la CNMV (2004-2007). Fue también Socio de una consultora financiera (2002-2004). Durante sus años en Bruselas (1996-1999) como Asesor Jefe de Asuntos Económicos y Comerciales en la Representación Española ante la Unión Europea, estuvo muy implicado en negociaciones sobre comercio internacional e inversiones así como en paneles de arbitraje de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC). Es autor de tres libros sobre paradojas económicas y políticas, teoría de juegos y sesgos cognitivos en derecho y economía (“Behavioral Law & Economics”).
After the US Dollar surged in late March as investors rushed to its safety amid the global onset of the coronacrisis, its value has since declined sharply. As uncertainty about the virus trajectory and the global economic recovery continues to loom large, the key question from here is whether this retrenchment marks the start of a multi-year Dollar down cycle, and, even more fundamentally, an erosion of the Dollar’s dominance in the global monetary system. In this episode, host Allison Nathan interviews three experts to answer these questions: UC Berkeley’s Barry Eichengreen, Cornell’s Eswar Prasad and Goldman Sachs’ own Zach Pandl. They don’t necessarily agree on the direction of the Dollar ahead, with Eichengreen less convinced than Pandl that the Dollar is set for a period of sustained depreciation. But they do agree that despite economic and geopolitical trends that suggest an eventual erosion of the Dollar’s global role, there’s still a long way to go before potential Dollar substitutes—the Euro, RMB and digital currencies—challenge its dominance.
Michael Pettis is someone who I have followed closely over my career and he is one of the most widely followed China experts in the investor community. He is currently based in Beijing and is Professor of Finance at Guanghua School of Management at Peking University and is the co-author of the recently published book “Trade Wars Are Class Wars”. In this podcast we discuss: How economists don’t understand debt Understanding when high savings rates work for countries How advanced economies investment needs changed since 1970s How trade surplus countries like China and Germany suppress the household wages and income Why China’s high savings rates will now only lead to higher debt, rather than growth How Spanish workers are harder working than German workers How the US and UK are forced recipients of excess savings Why high debt levels lead to low rates The problem with official Chinese GDP data The importance of the US dollar as reserve currency Why the Chinese yuan will not collapse Recommended books: the works of Kindleberger, Adam Tooze’s The Deluge, Eichengreen’s Golden Fetters, Mark Nelson’s Jumping the Abyss: Marriner S. Eccles and the New Deal, 1933-1940
Frances Donald, Manulife Asset Management Head of Macroeconomic Strategy, says we have not experienced a period of such heightened trade tensions since the 1930s. Barry Eichengreen, University of California Berkeley Economics Professor, says if there is to be progress on trade with China, it will have to be incremental. Shannon Cross, Cross Research Co-Founder, says the entire tech-hardware industry is moving toward service models, centered around recurring payments from consumers. Henrietta Treyz, Veda Partners Director of Economic Policy, says U.S. voters are still concerned about the economy but less so than during the recession. And Demian Flowers, Commerzbank Automotive Analyst, says in order to profit from autos, overall manufacturing costs must go down. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Frances Donald, Manulife Asset Management Head of Macroeconomic Strategy, says we have not experienced a period of such heightened trade tensions since the 1930s. Barry Eichengreen, University of California Berkeley Economics Professor, says if there is to be progress on trade with China, it will have to be incremental. Shannon Cross, Cross Research Co-Founder, says the entire tech-hardware industry is moving toward service models, centered around recurring payments from consumers. Henrietta Treyz, Veda Partners Director of Economic Policy, says U.S. voters are still concerned about the economy but less so than during the recession. And Demian Flowers, Commerzbank Automotive Analyst, says in order to profit from autos, overall manufacturing costs must go down.
Barry Eichengreen was an early skeptic about the prospects for monetary union in Europe.Nowadays the eminent economic historian acknowledges the single currency is here to stay. But he says much more should done to prevent the return of austerity that was the price millions of Europeans paid for saving the single currency this decade. A failure to make further reforms, warns Eichengreen, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, could be cataclysmic for Europe.“There is a link between high unemployment and social distress on the one hand and voting for extremist parties by and large on the right because that then is a way to effectively shift some of the blame for what people are experiencing toward foreigners,” he says. "It’s much too easy to look at the incidence of unemployment in Germany in the 1930s and draw a link with the rise of voting for National Socialism but there is something of a link there.”Eichengreen spoke to EU Scream in Brussels where he was giving the academic lecture at an annual meeting of the Centre for European Policy Studies and presenting his latest book, The Populist Temptation, which he wrote with his family’s suffering at the hands of the Nazis in mind. “The fact that we see resurgent nationalism, xenophobia, antisemitism all alive in Europe today certainly resonates with history, and it resonates with my personal history,” he says.Eichengreen also identifies the perception that Brussels policymakers are overreaching as part of the narrative nationalist populists use to discredit the European Union. Brussels, he says, would be wise to pull back and return more authority to member states in the area of fiscal oversight. That would mean effectively ditching rules that oblige Brussels to punish countries violating debt and deficit limits.Eichengreen acknowledges such a pull back would rely on Germany creating a shared system to shore up European banks that run into trouble. Yet that could help reduce tensions between northern Europeans who see southern Europeans as profligate. “If you break the so-called diabolic loop between budget problems and banking problems, at that point I think it becomes safe to return control of fiscal policies to the member states,” says Eichengreen.The International Monetary Fund also comes in for criticism as supine by failing to insist on easier loan conditions for Greece in 2010.“I think what I find most extraordinary is the fact that the I.M.F. laid down and accepted the European institutions unwillingness to contemplate debt restructuring in Greece,” says Eichengreen. “That was a point I think where — had Strauss-Kahn not been running for the French presidency — the Fund might have behaved differently and that could have changed the course of history,” says Eichengreen, referring to the then-managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.Strauss-Kahn was running the Fund when it accepted a role in the bailout. By involving the Fund in the Greek debt drama, Strauss-Kahn raised his profile for his presidential bid. But that locked the Fund into an arrangement with Germany, which pushed for tough loan terms on Greece.Please visit our website at EU Scream.“Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125” by Papalin is licensed unSupport the show (https://euscream.com/donate/)
Jacob Eichengreen is the Executive Director of the Quad Innovation Partnership at Colorado College; a partnership for entrepreneurship and economic development between the four major colleges in the Pikes Peak region. He has experience running a micro-equity business financing company abroad in Uganda, which gives him a great insight on the intersection of business and culture!
Barry Eichengreen, Author & University of California Berkeley Professor, provides his definition of populism: anti-elite, anti-authoritarian, and anti-other. Coronado, President & Founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives, says core goods prices really aren't showing the strength that they've been wanting to see. Mark McCormick, TD Bank Head: FX Strategy North America, says this is a tricky time for emerging markets. Scott Mushkin, Wolfe Research Senior Research & Staples Analyst, notes geography matters for the food industry. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Barry Eichengreen, Author & University of California Berkeley Professor, provides his definition of populism: anti-elite, anti-authoritarian, and anti-other. Coronado, President & Founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives, says core goods prices really aren't showing the strength that they've been wanting to see. Mark McCormick, TD Bank Head: FX Strategy North America, says this is a tricky time for emerging markets. Scott Mushkin, Wolfe Research Senior Research & Staples Analyst, notes geography matters for the food industry.
Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics at University of California Berkeley, discusses global currencies and comments on China's move to open markets for financial firms, saying "it will take time, if it happens." Prior to that, Gabriela Santos, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, says we should be expecting some correction in the markets. Finally, Steve Rattner, chairman at Willett Advisors, says there's a better than 50/50 chance that the House flips in the 2018 elections. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics at University of California Berkeley, discusses global currencies and comments on China's move to open markets for financial firms, saying "it will take time, if it happens." Prior to that, Gabriela Santos, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, says we should be expecting some correction in the markets. Finally, Steve Rattner, chairman at Willett Advisors, says there's a better than 50/50 chance that the House flips in the 2018 elections.
This episode of the American Academy in Berlin's “Beyond the Lecture” features an interview with University of California Berkeley economist Barry Eichengreen. A distinguished academic expert on the international monetary and financial systems, Eichengreen is also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a research fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London. He was at the Academy this past December to deliver the semester’s Kurt Viermetz Lecture, "The Populist Turn in American Politics." We sat down with him to talk about populism’s roots in economics and what the future may hold for the euro, free trade, and American domestic policy. Host: R. Jay Magill
Barry Eichengreen, a professor at UC Berkeley, says faster growth heals a lot of wounds economically and politically. Prior to that, Gideon Rose, editor of Foreign Affairs Magazine, says Donald Trump picking Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State suggests a change in relations with Russia. Then, David Herro, Harris Associates' CIO, says BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and Lloyds are attractively priced. Finally, Charles Plosser, former president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, says productivity is the big concern. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Barry Eichengreen, a professor at UC Berkeley, says faster growth heals a lot of wounds economically and politically. Prior to that, Gideon Rose, editor of Foreign Affairs Magazine, says Donald Trump picking Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State suggests a change in relations with Russia. Then, David Herro, Harris Associates' CIO, says BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and Lloyds are attractively priced. Finally, Charles Plosser, former president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, says productivity is the big concern.
In this episode, James Caton discusses the classical and inter-war gold standards. James is an economics PhD student at George Mason University. Gold has many qualities that make it an ideal money: It is valuable, scarce, divisible, and easy to transport. It is also easy to verify the value of a given amount of gold: The Old Testament references weights and scales being used to measure gold. Ancient people could verify the purity of the gold by observing its water displacement. Before 1870, only Great Britain was on a gold standard, while gold, silver, and other metals would circulate freely alongside one another throughout the rest of Europe. The classical gold standard began in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War, when the victorious Germany demonetized silver in favour of gold and the rest of Western Europe followed suit (see Caton on the deflation that resulted from the demonetization of silver). America converted to the gold standard in 1879 upon redeeming the Civil War greenbacks for gold. The classical gold standard operated as a fixed exchange rate regime. As England was the center of global finance, the Bank of England held a privileged position whereby other central banks would follow the Bank of England to keep their currencies constant against the Pound Sterling (see Eichengreen and Bordo). This was the case until the First World War. Europe's governments suspended the convertibility of their currencies into gold during the First World War. These governments created a great deal of inflation to finance the war, but they were reluctant to devalue their exchange rates after the war had ended. They wanted to return to their pre-war exchange rates. At this point, the Fed did something crazy: It slashed the US money stock by over 40%, increasing demand for gold, and causing a general deflation. Before 1925, as gold flowed into the United States, the Fed did not increase the monetary base in tandem with the increasing gold stock, thus sterilizing the gold inflows' influence on prices. After 1925, when Europe returned to the gold standard, the Federal Reserve did increase the monetary base alongside the gold stock. The typical Austrian narrative about the Great Depression (see Robbins and Rothbard) blames the Fed for the 1920s inflation that created an unsustainable boom resulting in the eventual crash that became the Great Depression. However, James disagrees with the blame put on the Fed in this story, as the ratio between the base money stock and the gold stock was fairly constant from 1925 to 1929. From 1925, the Bank of England was acting as Europe's central bank, holding most of Europe's gold. This was politically unpalatable for the French, who began hoarding gold in 1927, devaluing the Franc and causing gold to flow into France (see Irwin). Between 1927 and 1932, France went from holding 7% to 27% of the world's monetary gold. The resulting deflation exacerbated the Great Depression. The Bank of England went off gold in 1931, sounding the death knell for the international gold standard. FDR devalued the dollar and outlawed private ownership of gold in 1933, ending what was left of the gold standard. Although this mitigated the ongoing institutional collapse in the American banking sector, the Great Depression continued on until after the Second World War. See also: Irwin and Rustici on the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. James can be found online at his blog, Money, Markets, and Misperceptions, and at the George Mason University website.
Barry Eichengreen of University of California, Berkeley and author of Exorbitant Privilege talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the history and importance of the dollar as the dominant international currency. Eichengreen explains the advantages to the United States of the dollar's dominance, the historical circumstances that led to its dominance, and the likelihood that the dollar might be supplanted by a competitor. Along the way they discuss China's currency policy, the state of U.S. monetary policy, the causes of the crisis, the risk of inflation in the United States, and the future of the Federal Reserve.
Barry Eichengreen of University of California, Berkeley and author of Exorbitant Privilege talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the history and importance of the dollar as the dominant international currency. Eichengreen explains the advantages to the United States of the dollar's dominance, the historical circumstances that led to its dominance, and the likelihood that the dollar might be supplanted by a competitor. Along the way they discuss China's currency policy, the state of U.S. monetary policy, the causes of the crisis, the risk of inflation in the United States, and the future of the Federal Reserve.
Asia has been successful in expanding its domestic economies, integrating them, and linking them to the global economy. Market-led integration backed by national efforts and regional cooperation has greatly benefited the region and helped it to sustain high growth. But why, despite a dense network of arrangements and institutions, does Asia remain “institution-lite”—marked by few formal or explicit commitments from member countries in terms of agenda for cooperation? Two distinguished economists will present on the Asian Development Bank’s new flagship study “Institutions for Asian Regionalism: Enhancing Cooperation and Integration in Asia and the Pacific.” Eichengreen and Madhur will lay out a framework to strengthen the region’s institutional architecture to achieve the goal of an Asian Economic Community.