Skip to main content

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.

Sort by: Show:
  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. ginsberg1_Tayfun CoskunAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_january6journalistviolence Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Our Freedoms Depend on Press Freedom

    Jodie Ginsberg warns that the increased targeting of journalists and the media is a key indicator of democratic erosion.
  2. balasegaram2_JOHN WESSELSAFP via Getty Images_africaflood John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

    Climate Change Is a Worse Health Threat Than We Think

    Manica Balasegaram warns that the world is underestimating the extent to which global warming will fuel antimicrobial resistance.
  3. delong259_ChesnotGetty Images_musk Omar Marques/Getty Images

    Musk Has Made Tesla a Meme Stock

    J. Bradford DeLong worries that the first mover in electric vehicles is increasingly running on bucket-shop hype.
  4. buchholz15_Al Drago-PoolGetty Images_yellen Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images

    The US Treasury’s Bond Blunder Will Cost Gen Z Dearly

    Todd G. Buchholz & James Carter thinks the US should have locked in favorable borrowing rates when it had the chance.
  5. james217_ Christopher FurlongGetty Images_gold Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

    What’s Driving the Global Gold Rush?

    Harold James considers the political factors pushing the price of the “barbarous relic” to all-time highs.
  6. stiglitz333_ Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_bidentrump Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Global Elections in the Shadow of Neoliberalism

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    While scandals, culture wars, and threats to democracy dominate the headlines, the biggest issues in this super election year ultimately concern economic policies. After all, the rise of anti-democratic populist authoritarianism is itself the legacy of a misbegotten economic ideology.

    considers what 40 years of anti-government, low-tax, deregulatory advocacy have wrought around the world.
  7. terzi6_green transition degrowth Getty Images

    Averting Climate Catastrophe Requires Economic Growth

    Alessio Terzi & Gernot Wagner show why shrinking the global economy, as envisaged by advocates of degrowth, is a bad way to cut emissions.
  8. varoufakis114_KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEVAFP via Getty Images_germany protests KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images

    Banned By Germany

    Yanis Varoufakis

    Germany recently prohibited a Palestinian Congress from taking place in Berlin, arrested its Jewish supporters, and barred one of its organizers, Greece’s former finance minister, from entering the country. But the turn to repression is powerful evidence that the country’s pro-Israel political consensus is breaking down.

    sees in his case an effort to enforce with repression a pro-Israel political consensus that is breaking down.
  9. sheng147_ Annabelle ChihGetty Images_taiwansemiconductors Annabelle Chih/Getty Images

    China Should Emulate Taiwan’s Tech Policies

    Andrew Sheng & Xiao Geng urge the Chinese government to follow the island's lead by embracing the financialization of innovation.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.