Author Archives: Menzie Chinn

“Financial Stability in Emerging Markets: Dealing with Global Liquidity”

That was the title of a conference in Beijing (October 21st), organized by the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) . I had the privileged of delivering a keynote speech. The conference agenda is here, and encompassed three sessions: Global Liquidity — Consequences and Policy Options; Dealing with International Capital Flows; and a panel forum on International Capital Flows and the International Monetary System.

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Wealth Inequality: A Time Series Plot

Dismissing the plots of income inequality in previous posts [0] (related posts [1] [2]), an Econbrowser reader asks:

“Do you concur that measures of the wealth distribution have been mostly quiescent since the 1970s and that the distribution of wealth is more even today than it was in the 1940s (the peak for the US modern era)?”

Well, I think that this is an interesting question, and so I went a-searching for data. This is what I found, which led to my answer of “no”.

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On China: Global Impact, Domestic Costs, Hard Landing, and the RMB As an International Currency

A new book on China (and Asia) in the global economy, the costs of the Chinese currency regime, the prospects for a Chinese hard landing, and can China save the day if the US and euro area go into recession. Plus, the prospects for the RMB as a key international currency.

 

A new bookAsia and China in the World Economy, edited by Yin-Wong Cheung (UCSC and HK City U) and Guonan Ma (BIS).

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Yuan Appreciation: Do Chinese Trade Flows Behave Differently? (I)

China is in the news; or more accurately, the Chinese currency, is. From Reuters:

A sharp rise in China’s yuan currency might cut the U.S. trade deficit by as much as one third and create enough American jobs to put at least a modest dent in the unemployment rate.

Then again, it may also lead to a destabilizing spike in Chinese unemployment and spark a trade war that drags the global economy back into a deep recession.

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Gov. Perry on Anthropogenic Climate Change

From Reuters, three days ago:

“I still stand by that the science is not settled on man-made global warming,” Perry said while campaigning in the key early primary state of New Hampshire.

By the way of contrast, from the Preface to National Academy of Sciences, Advancing the Science of Climate Change (2010):

…there is a strong, credible body of evidence, based on multiple lines of research, documenting that climate is changing and that these changes are in large part caused by human activities. …

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