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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    May 8, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld thinks the presumptive GOP nominee’s policies reflect an outdated understanding of the economy.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. lachman1_Jemal CountessGetty Images for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation_USdebt Jemal Countess/Getty Images for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation

    Trump’s Looming Deficit Disaster

    Desmond Lachman explains why the US president’s trade tariffs and planned tax cuts are at odds with basic economic realities.
  2. mazzucato80_WPA PoolGettyImages_starmer_ai_speech WPA Pool/Getty Images

    Governing AI for the Public Interest

    Mariana Mazzucato & Tommaso Valletti explain why the UK government’s recently released AI “action plan” misses the mark.
  3. chellaney184_ Sergio FloresGetty Images_trumpmodi Sergio Flores/Getty Images

    Putting the Trump-Modi Bromance to the Test

    Brahma Chellaney hopes that the US and Indian leaders take concrete steps to reset and deepen the bilateral relationship.
  4. alemanno2_Thierry MonasseGettyImages_vdl_competitiveness_compass Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

    The Dark Side of EU Deregulation

    Alberto Alemanno warns that the bloc’s efforts to reduce bureaucratic red tape will do more harm than good.
  5. GettyImages-2196139559

    Daniel Gros on DeepSeek, Germany's malaise, EU competitiveness, and more

    Daniel Gros hopes that a Chinese startup's apparent AI breakthrough will provide a much-needed boost to European competitiveness, advises the EU on how to deal with Donald Trump, urges Europe to improve conditions for bottom-up innovation, and more.
  6. bremmer39_Steve PfostNewsday RM via Getty Images_USwindfarm Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images

    Trump Will Not Kill the Global Energy Transition

    Ian Bremmer

    Despite Donald Trump's promise to boost fossil-fuel production, the economic and technological forces driving the clean-energy revolution cannot be stopped. The global transition will power forward, even if America has abandoned climate leadership, and even if the road ahead includes a few more bumps.

    assuages fears that the global energy transition will be thrown into reverse by the new US administration.
  7. brown117_Robert HradilGetty Images_WHO Robert Hradil/Getty Images

    A Reformed WHO Should Make Its Case to America

    Gordon Brown wants to reassure the Trump administration that a revamped organization could serve US and global interests.
  8. tbunde6_New Look CastingGettyImages_globe_jigsaw New Look Casting/Getty Images

    The Age of Multipolarization

    Tobias Bunde & Sophie Eisentraut think a better future depends on whether a world with more poles can find ways to mitigate dangerous divisions.
  9. eichengreen200_PhotoQuestGettyImages_IBM_computer_france PhotoQuest/Getty Images

    Will US Export Restrictions Work?

    Barry Eichengreen

    Perhaps US efforts to cut off China’s access to advanced semiconductors will be more successful than analogous restrictions on tech exports to France in the 1960s. But we now have at least one data point – DeepSeek – that suggests otherwise.

    questions the effectiveness of efforts to limit China’s access to advanced semiconductors.

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