Public Finance – Baker Institute Blog

Could we take the dollar down again?

September 22, 2015admin

Thirty years ago today, the financial leaders of the five leading economies of the time gathered in the Plaza Hotel, concerned about an excessively strong dollar. The coordinated effort to deflate the dollar that resulted from that meeting seems appealing again. The substantial run-up in the dollar over the past year has created tensions about competitive devaluations, and growing trade imbalances lurk around the corner. What would it take to achieve another Plaza Accord? Continue Reading →

Height vs. weight: Will the Chinese economy’s mass translate into global stature? (Part 2)

April 21, 2015admin

At this point, projections indicate that a slowdown of China’s economic growth is nearly inevitable. This in turn will slow the growth of its share of global GDP as well as global trade — traditional measures of economic might and international presence. We must now consider what this means for China’s international economic presence and its influence on the global stage. Continue Reading →

Height vs. weight: Will the Chinese economy’s mass translate into global stature? (Part 1)

April 20, 2015admin

China is ascendant in global affairs. Riding on the strength of its powerhouse economy, China is making a clear effort to bolster its international presence, economically and in many other areas. Yet now we are seeing Chinese economic growth slowing. Since economic power is the lever for China’s vault onto the global stage, the question then arises, how much will China’s growth slowdown impact its global agenda? Continue Reading →

Go big: Advice for India’s budget proposals

February 26, 2015admin

India needs to upset the apple cart. The nation needs double-digit growth in order to attack poverty in a meaningful way. The present government system deeply forms the present economic structure and hampers growth in the most critical areas of the economy. Continue Reading →

PM Modi’s U.S. visit dull? An economic policy perspective

September 29, 2014admin

Am I the only India follower who is bored with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s spectacle of a U.S. visit? The glitz is fun, but I am an economic policy wonk, and from my perspective, there is little to capture the… Continue Reading →

BRICS bank: Not yet fully baked

July 17, 2014admin

The new BRICS bank announced this week displays the emerging economies’ desire to move away from Washington-style lending institutions. But between Indian bureaucrats loathe to make decisions and China’s reputation for steamrolling humanitarian and environmental concerns, they may not move very far away after all. This blog reviews some of the challenges the New Development Bank will face. Continue Reading →

Five questions: Why the world is watching India’s new PM

May 28, 2014admin

Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s new prime minister on Monday, a little over a week after a landslide victory at the polls. The resounding win gives Modi much greater freedom to implement his agenda than any Indian leader in recent years, says international economics fellow Russell Green. What will Modi’s India look like, and how will it affect the U.S.? Green, who spent four years in India as the U.S. Treasury Department’s first financial attaché to that country, explains. Continue Reading →