RealTime Economic Issues Watch

US Power Sector Meets 2020 Climate Change Target—for a Month

Trevor Houser — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:21:23 +0000

At the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen in 2009, the United States committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020—a target included in cap-and-trade legislation that had passed the House of Representatives earlier that year. With the death of cap-and-trade in the Senate and the Republican takeover of [...]

Move the Financial Stability Board’s Secretariat to Asia

Nicolas Véron — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:01:05 +0000

On the face of it, the financial crisis of 2007-08 has helped rebalance the governance of global financial authorities, partially correcting the prior underrepresentation of emerging economies and of Asia in particular. From November 2008 to April 2009, when the G-7/G-8 was superseded by the G-20, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) was empowered and enlarged [...]

Greece’s Election: Tough Choices and a Sense of Déjà vu

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:54:30 +0000

The Greek election on May 6 delivered a result that was only marginally surprising, defeating both “establishment parties,” the center-right New Democracy and the Socialists, or PASOK. Together they fell short of a majority, with only 108 seats for New Democracy and 41 for the Socialists, out of 300 parliamentary seats. 1 Because it is [...]

How to Save Corporate Tax Reform: Stop Exaggerating the Revenue Cost

Gary Clyde Hufbauer — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:27:16 +0000

Until recently, corporate tax reform was a bipartisan priority. Commissions with a Democratic slant and a Republican slant both argued for a cut in the statutory US corporate tax rate – the highest among advanced countries – from 35 percent to the neighborhood of 25 percent.1 Congressional Republicans and President Obama’s Treasury Department agreed. But [...]

Are Europeans Turning Against Austerity?

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:10:58 +0000

As Europe’s growth prospects take a beating, critics of austerity seem to be riding high. In France, the Socialist Francois Hollande seems poised to be elected president on a wave of protest over record high unemployment in the euro area. Meanwhile, the fiscally hawkish Dutch government has fallen victim to its own rhetoric, after failing [...]

Why the World Should Care about the European Debate on Bank Capital Requirements

Nicolas Véron — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:49:01 +0000

The European Union’s finance ministers are furiously debating a piece of legislation known as CRD4/CRR (the acronyms stand for the fourth Capital Requirements Directive and the Capital Requirements Regulation). The measure is intended to implement the Basel III accord on bank capital, leverage, liquidity and risk management, which was adopted at the global level by [...]

Elections in France: An Eerie Stability

Nicolas Véron — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:13:07 +0000

Like a majority of my Excel-equipped compatriots, I did a bit of post-election math, and what strikes me most about the first round of the French presidential elections on April 22, 2012 is the similarity to the 2002 results if you look at political voting blocs instead of individual candidates: Left: 43.8 percent (2012) vs. [...]

Why Europe Needs Austerity—It’s Not Why You Think

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:30:11 +0000

With Spanish 10-year bond yields soaring again above 6 percent, many critics question the wisdom of the Spanish government’s €10 billion in new austerity measures. As discussed on this blog last week, Madrid has been listening to the political demands of the broader euro area and the European Central Bank (ECB). The bank, after all, [...]

China Should Exercise Global Leadership on Europe

Juan Carlos Martinez Oliva — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:22:49 +0000

The issue of whether and how much to increase the lending power of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reinforce its ability to cope with the euro area crisis is among the most debated at the IMF-World Bank meetings this week. The pledges have reached $320 billion, which falls short the target of $400 billion [...]

Jim Yong Kim: The Right Choice for the World Bank

Simon Johnson — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:50:06 +0000

Editor’s Note: On April 16 the Executive Directors of the World Bank selected Dr. Jim Yong Kim as President for a five-year term beginning on July 1, 2012. A decision on choosing the next president of the World Bank is expected this week—perhaps as early as Monday. The Obama administration nominated Jim Yong Kim, president [...]