Kristin Forbes: Economists must bridge disciplines to find answers to financial crises

In 2009 when my colleagues at the National Bureau of Economic Research and I began planning a conference for a project we’re running on the global financial crisis, we were concerned that the material would no longer be timely when the symposium actually occurred. We needn’t have worried. I’ve just returned from Washington, DC, where […]

Christine Lagarde and the demand for dollars

Source: The New York Times Economix After receiving support from the United States at the critical moment, Christine Lagarde was named Tuesday as the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund. In campaigning for the job, Ms. Lagarde, France’s finance minister, made various promises to emerging markets with regard to improving their relationships with […]

Europe Needs Trichet’s Unified Finance Ministry: Simon Johnson

From Bloomberg News Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank until October, last week floated two proposals aimed at dealing with Greece and related eurozone public-debt problems. The first idea would allow European Union authorities to override the policy decisions of member governments that can’t come up with sustainable budgets, implying the creation of […]

Emerging Markets May Name Strauss-Kahn’s Heir: Simon Johnson

From Bloomberg Even before the shocking events of the past few days, the international policy community had been contemplating a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the International Monetary Fund. Strauss-Kahn, the IMF managing director, was expected to begin campaigning soon for the presidency of France. Now, whatever happens in the New York legal system as he defends […]