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Benjamin J. Cohen

Benjamin J. Cohen

15 commentaries

Benjamin J. Cohen, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Political Economy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is the author of Currency Statecraft: Monetary Rivalry and Geopolitical Ambition.

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  1. The Bonfire of the Currencies?
    op_bjcohen2_Martin PooleGetty Images_usdfire Martin Poole/Getty Images

    The Bonfire of the Currencies?

    Oct 29, 2021 Benjamin J. Cohen reviews books by two leading economists on what the future holds for currencies and payment systems.

  2. The Pandemic Is Shaking the Dollar’s Supremacy
    bjcohen13_ANTHONY WALLACEAFP via Getty Images_tornUSDdollar Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

    The Pandemic Is Shaking the Dollar’s Supremacy

    May 18, 2020 Benjamin J. Cohen suggests that escalating US leadership failures will further erode the greenback's global standing.

  3. Can America and China Avoid a Currency War?
    bjcohen12_XuJinbaiVCGviaGettyImages_chinarenminbiuscurrency Xu Jinbai/VCG via Getty Images

    Can America and China Avoid a Currency War?

    Aug 8, 2019 Benjamin J. Cohen holds out hope that the world’s two largest economies may yet achieve some form of exchange-rate détente.

  4. The Case for a Fiscal Fed
    bjcohen11_GettyImages_gearswindupglobe Getty Images

    The Case for a Fiscal Fed

    Jul 19, 2019 Benjamin J. Cohen proposes a new independent agency to supplement monetary-policy responses to macroeconomic fluctuations.

  5. Where Have All the Safe Havens Gone?
    man at porthole piola666/Getty Images

    Where Have All the Safe Havens Gone?

    Jan 7, 2019 Benjamin J. Cohen expects lost faith in the US dollar and economic troubles elsewhere to lead to even more market volatility.

  1. bildt129_MaximShipenkovGettyImages_valdai_putin_fail Maxim Shipenkov/Getty Images

    Putin’s March of Folly

    Carl Bildt argues that Russia’s president has only his own poor decisions to blame for his country’s loss of status.
  2. hausmann117_TONY KARUMBAAFP via Getty Images_africawindfarm Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

    A Better Approach to Climate Finance

    Ricardo Hausmann

    By harnessing the capabilities of developing countries, we can accelerate global decarbonization while creating new growth opportunities. This approach would not only advance crucial climate goals but also ensure that a larger share of the world’s population can enjoy the fruits of the clean-energy transition.

    shows how developing countries can accelerate global decarbonization while creating new growth opportunities.
  3. ghosh83_CHRISTIAN MONTERROSAAFP via Getty Images_trump cop CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images

    Trump’s Bad COP

    Jayati Ghosh says the Paris climate agreement’s future depends on how other countries respond to the new US administration.
  4. goldberg32_Spencer PlattGetty Images_USshipping Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Are Tariffs Worth It?

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg thinks the risks and costs for the US will far outweigh any potential political or geopolitical benefits.
  5. schalatek1_Resul RehimovAnadolu via Getty Images_cop29 Resul Rehimov/Anadolu via Getty Images
    Free to read

    Is the Loss and Damage Fund Becoming an Empty Promise?

    Liane Schalatek warns that rich countries are once again shirking their responsibility to provide adequate climate finance.
  6. mazzucato77_PABLOPORCIUNCULAGettyImages_G20_summit_prostest PABLO PORCIUNCULA/Getty Images

    How Global Public Investment Should Work

    Mariana Mazzucato & Jonathan Glennie

    Addressing problems like climate change and biodiversity loss calls for new thinking about how to mobilize the huge volume of financing that will be needed. International cooperation must be re-framed as a collective endeavor in which all countries benefit, contribute, and make investment decisions together.

    propose a new model to unlock financing for action on climate change, biodiversity loss, and other issues.
  7. palacio163_Dominika ZarzyckaSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_cop29finance Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    COP29 Must Deliver the Goods

    Ana Palacio hopes that geopolitical uncertainty will not thwart ambitious, credible climate-finance commitments.
  8. ngilman1_Ivan LiemanAFP via Getty Images_rwandagorilla Ivan Lieman/AFP via Getty Images

    Interspecies Money Is Here

    Nils Gilman & Mutesi Rusagara look beyond the first ever payments to animals and see a new model for human-wildlife economic collaboration.
  9. strain33_TheWashingtonPostGettyImages_make_america_wealthy_again The Washington Post/Getty Images

    A Trump Boom?

    Michael R. Strain thinks the president-elect’s economic policies could be wildly successful if he avoids his worst impulses.

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