More than 250 Economists Call for Trade Reforms to Allow Capital Controls
While no panacea, they are legitimate policy tools for preventing and mitigating financial crises.
Inspiring Story of Tunisian Protests Ignored by Washington
Once again, the U.S. seems to prefer the devil it knows in President Ben Ali.
Decoding the G-20 Drama
The brouhaha over “global re-balancing” boils down to this: Americans buy too much stuff from China.
Unpopular Sarkozy Gets it Right on Financial Transactions Taxes in the G-20
The French President is standing tough in his push to increase taxes on the financial sector.
Obama’s Trip to India: Don’t Rush into a Bilateral Investment Treaty
The U.S. and India should not sign a treaty that will only serve the short-term interests of large corporations, and undermine the authority of governments to protect their people from financial crisis.
Debate on Globalization: Threat or Opportunity?
The IMF’s stated mission is to create and maintain macro-economic stability and to assist countries having solvency issues with their balance of payments. There are those who assert that the IMF is actually a destabilizing force within the global economy, while others believe that the countries themselves are to blame for poor economic choices. In a provocative contest of perspectives and analysis Rick Rowden, a long time critic of IMF policy will challenge Eugene Nyambal, former Senior Advisor to Executive Director at the Board of Directors of the IMF.
Greece: Same Tragedy, Different Scripts
The Greek economic crisis is not about living beyond one’s means, reports columnist Walden Bello from Athens. It’s the same story of unregulated financial speculation all over again.
The Battle for Thailand
A state of civil war exists in Thailand, reports columnist Walden Bello, and it has much to do with class.
Why a Real Recovery Must be a Global Recovery
Civil society proposals to fix the global financial system would benefit ordinary people in impoverished countries and in the United States.
IMF Reforms: Mere Tinkering or Change We Can Live With?
The IMF has introduced reforms with some positive features. But it has not questioned, much less shifted away from, the “market-fundamentalist” orientation it has prescribed and enforced for so long.
The IMF is Back? Think Again
Accounts that herald the IMF’s “revival” are premature and superficial.
Pirate Bankers, Shadow Economies
Corruption isn’t just about corrupt leaders and their private stashes. The international financial community is also part of the problem.
G20 and Global Poverty
Heres the good, the bad, and whats next.
Obama: Sweep Away a Free Trade Relic
Among the most embarrassing, yet often overlooked economic policies of the Bush and Clinton years was the penchant for making other countries restrict capital controls, even though such controls had proved effective against financial volatility.
Policy Handcuffs in the Financial Crisis
A new report finds that bans on capital controls are outdated and a hindrance to developing nations.