ECONOMICS AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS
October 8, 2008
"The High Cost of Incompetent Governance"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
In times like this -- global economic crisis -- the dominance of exclusively oil-fueled economies in the Arab World expose a regional lack of competent governance.
AP Photo
October 6, 2008
"Demeaning Democracy"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
As the consequences and costs of the Iraq war, the global war on terror, and the economic mismanagement unfold, so does the 2008 US presidential election. Now, even the latter appears to disgrace the once admired ideal of America's democracy in the eyes of the world.
AP Photo
October 4, 2008
"The Problem Is Still Falling House Prices"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
Martin Felstein discusses the falling prices of housing in the current economic crisis, and the negative impact on individuals with mortgages and financial institutions and individuals currently paying off a mortgage, and the implications of the new legislation on this issue.
September 29, 2008
"A Bailout is Just a Start"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
"It is impossible to predict the ultimate cost to the Treasury of the bailout and the other commitments that financial authorities have made -- this will depend primarily on the economy as well as the quality of execution and oversight. But it is very unlikely to approach $700 billion and will be spread over a number of years."
AP Photo
September 29, 2008
"Problems run deeper than Wall Street"
Op-Ed, The Korea Herald
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"With less than two months remaining before America's presidential election, much attention is focused on the state of the American economy and the challenges that it will present to the next president."
AP Photo
September 26, 2008
Boards Fail -- Again
Op-Ed, BusinessWeek
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Sadly, it is clear that the boards of our major financial institutions did not understand the risks the entities were taking. It may be that the CEOs and top management didn't understand, either, but it is the board's job to press management. As experienced individuals, it is board members' duty to ask hard questions when things are going extremely well as well as when they are going badly.
AP Photo
September 25, 2008
Feldstein: Everyone has a Stake in Preventing the Financial Markets from Collapsing
In the News
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
Martin Feldstein, president emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the Belfer Center's Board of Directors, gave his take on the most pressing issues facing the United States' economy in an interview with Canada's Business News Network.
AP Photo
September 25, 2008
"Only a New Constitution Can Guarantee a Better Kenya"
Op-Ed, The Daily Nation, (Kenya)
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project
"The constitutional orders put in place in much of Africa, following independence, were largely a continuation of the colonial economic order. The associated governance structures are being swept aside by globalisation, demographic change, and demands for democratic liberties."
AP Photo
September 19, 2008
Economic Experts Offer Solutions to Financial Turmoil
News
By Sasha Talcott, Director of Communications and Outreach
With financial markets in chaos, several of the leading economists affiliated with Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center -- including Lawrence H. Summers, Martin Feldstein, and Paul Volcker -- are actively advising policymakers on next steps.
AP Photo
September 18, 2008
The Power of Oil Consumers
Op-Ed
By Henry A. Kissinger and Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
The oil-consuming nations are in a position to shape both the global economic and political balance, provided they coordinate and, to some extent, pool their efforts. America should play a major role in this effort. Rather than wait passively for the next blow to fall, the major consuming nations -- the Group of Seven, together with India, China and Brazil -- should establish a coordinating group to shift the long-term trends of supply and demand in their favor and to end the blackmail of the strong by the weak.
