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Robert J. Barro

Robert J. Barro

13 commentaries

Robert J. Barro, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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  1. Understanding Recent US Inflation
    barro12_STEFANI REYNOLDSAFP via Getty Images_inflation STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

    Understanding Recent US Inflation

    Aug 30, 2022 Robert J. Barro sees the fiscal-policy response to the COVID recession as the main factor fueling faster price growth.

  2. Yes, the US Economy Is Likely in Recession
    barro11_Michael NagleXinhua via Getty Images_USstockmarketrecession Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images

    Yes, the US Economy Is Likely in Recession

    Aug 1, 2022 Robert J. Barro shows that two consecutive quarters of negative US growth have almost always preceded an official downturn designation.

  3. Big State Inflation
    barro10 Getty Images

    Big State Inflation

    Dec 4, 2021 Robert J. Barro worries that US monetary and fiscal policy is running off the rails and theatening future growth.

  4. An Interview with Robert J. Barro
    David Ricardo Economics for many decades has been dominated by journal articles, rather than books. But there are a few classics that are undoubtedly worth reading. Beyond the aforementioned Smith and Weber, this 1817 book by Ricardo is effectively the first work on macroeconomics, and thus essential reading.

    An Interview with Robert J. Barro

    Apr 20, 2021 Robert J. Barro warns that the anchor of long-term inflation expectations is being pulled up, advises the US on how to deal with China, and critiques Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure package.

  5. Pulling Up the Inflation Anchor
    barro8_Win McNameeGetty Images_volcker Win McNamee/Getty Images

    Pulling Up the Inflation Anchor

    Feb 25, 2021 Robert J. Barro worries that reckless policies could undo decades of hard-won gains by monetary policymakers.

  1. buiter45_Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post via Getty Image_jeromepowell Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
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    Price Stability vs. Financial Stability?

    Willem H. Buiter

    If the US Federal Reserve raises its policy interest rate by as much as is necessary to rein in inflation, it will most likely further depress the market value of the long-duration securities parked on many banks' balance sheets. So be it.

     thinks central banks can achieve both, despite the occurrence of a liquidity crisis amid high inflation.
  2. frankel145_ Richard Baker In Pictures via Getty Images_exchangerates Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images
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    Fifty Years of Floating Currencies

    Jeffrey Frankel explains why the shift toward exchange-rate flexibility after 1973 was not a policy failure, as many believed.
  3. harrington34_Drew AngererGetty Images_avril haines Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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    What Do America’s Spies Really Think About China?

    Kent Harrington thinks the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment should have delved deeper on the issue.
  4. grafton2_ SIMON MAINAAFP via Getty Images_water SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images
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    Waking Up to the World’s Water Crisis

    Quentin Grafton, et al. see three overarching priorities for the first global water conference in almost a half-century.
  5. benami199_BULENT KILICAFP via Getty Images_ukraine BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
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    Peace Requires Betrayal

    Shlomo Ben-Ami shows why Ukraine and Russia will most likely have to pursue an unpopular endgame to stop the bloodshed.
  6. reichlin29_David L. RyanThe Boston Globe via Getty Images_svb David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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    Lessons from the SVB Collapse

    Lucrezia Reichlin

    Although Silicon Valley Bank was not deemed to be systemically important, its insolvency forced the US Federal Reserve to head off systemic contagion and exposed the inadequacy of the FDIC’s partial deposit insurance regime. The financial-stability framework adopted after the 2008 crisis obviously needs another overhaul.

     considers what the bank’s failure should mean for the current financial-stability framework.
  7. foglia4_kentohGetty Images_bankingregulations kentoh/Getty Images
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    It’s the Banking Regulations, Stupid

    Antonio Foglia traces the Silicon Valley Bank failure back to fundamental flaws in the prevailing governance framework.
  8. mazzucato52_Mario TamaGetty Images_water agriculture drought Mario Tama/Getty Images
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    Confronting the Global Water Crisis

    Mariana Mazzucato, et al. offer a seven-point blueprint for preserving one of the planet’s most important natural systems.
  9. op_haass3_Chris HondrosGetty Images_iraqwar Chris Hondros/Getty Images
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    Revisiting America’s War of Choice in Iraq

    Richard Haass considers the enduring lessons from a foreign intervention that was both ill-conceived and poorly executed.

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