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Maurice Obstfeld

Maurice Obstfeld

8 commentaries

Maurice Obstfeld, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.

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  1. Trump’s Inflationary Triple Threat
    op_disparte1_SadikDemirozGetty Images_digitaldollar FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

    Trump’s Inflationary Triple Threat

    Nov 22, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld warns that the incoming administration’s agenda would weaken the Fed and destabilize the financial system.

  2. Donald Trump’s Tariffs Would Hurt US Workers and Businesses
    obstfeld6_Anthony KwanGetty Images_tariffs Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    Donald Trump’s Tariffs Would Hurt US Workers and Businesses

    Oct 22, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld shows why targeting an overall reduction in imports would reduce America’s real wages and national income.

  3. America’s Deficit Attention Disorder
    obstfeld5_ Justin SullivanGetty Images_trade Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    America’s Deficit Attention Disorder

    Aug 5, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld thinks the accumulation of public debt is a far more urgent problem than the trade balance.

  4. The Dangers of a US Capital Inflow Tax
    obstfeld4_Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post via Getty Images_trumplighthizer Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    The Dangers of a US Capital Inflow Tax

    Jun 14, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld worries that a little-known, highly costly method of deficit reduction is gaining political traction.

  5. Trump’s Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation
    Project Syndicate

    Trump’s Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation

    May 8, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld thinks the presumptive GOP nominee’s policies reflect an outdated understanding of the economy.

  1. delaney1_Jose JimenezGettyImages_bahamas_dorian Jose Jimenez/Getty Images
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    Turning the Financial Tide for Small Island States

    Maya Delaney & Aminath Shauna tout the potential of green and blue bonds to protect critical ecosystems and build economic resilience.
  2. brown116_Timur MatahariGettyImages_indonesia_free_school_meals Timur Matahari/Getty Images
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    School Meals Provide Food for Thought – and Fuel for Development

    Gordon Brown & Kevin Watkins tout universal nutrition programs in lower-income countries to mitigate a lost decade for poor children.
  3. karl3_Apu GomesGetty Images_LAfires Apu Gomes/Getty Images
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    A House Gutted by Fire

    Terry Lynn Karl blames the inferno now consuming Los Angeles County squarely on greenhouse-gas emissions.
  4. op_janeway17_Natalya KosarevichGetty Images_moneyhandslightbulb Natalya Kosarevich/Getty Images
    1

    False Economies

    William H. Janeway

    For decades, an efficiency-centered “economic style” has dominated public policy, overriding the concerns for fairness that animated the New Deal and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society. Now, Americans must brace for economic governance that delivers neither efficiency nor fairness, only chaos.

     highlights the high cost of the single-minded focus on efficiency that has come to dominate the discipline.
  5. bq trump institutions Photo by Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images
    1

    Can US Institutions Withstand Trump 2.0?

    While some observers doubt that US President-elect Donald Trump poses a grave threat to US democracy, others are bracing themselves for the destruction of the country’s constitutional order. With Trump’s inauguration just around the corner, we asked PS commentators how vulnerable US institutions really are.

  6. wagner31_Westend61Getty Images_climatependulum Westend61/Getty Images
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    The Climate Policy Pendulum

    Gernot Wagner notes that green technologies retain their many advantages, regardless of national political developments.
  7. strain35_Christina HouseGettyImages_commencement_ceremony Christina House/Getty Images
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    Could High-Skill Immigration Increase Under Trump?

    Michael R. Strain argues that the recent kerfuffle over foreign workers underscores the president-elect’s pragmatic instincts.
  8. posner38_Viktor SidorovGettyImages_un_flag Viktor Sidorov/Getty Images
    2

    What Happened to International Law?

    Eric Posner sees the web of treaties, conventions, and institutions as another victim of the anti-globalization backlash.
  9. palacio165_Picture AllianceGettyImages_eu_flags Picture Alliance/Getty Images
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    Europe’s Year of Fundamental Choices

    Ana Palacio considers the complex array of internal and external challenges the European Union must confront in 2025.

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