Below you will find summaries of six short essays published by Project Syndicate evaluating the potential decline of the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency and some of the resulting implications. Below each summary, I note (in italics) other important points made in the essay. May 14, 2025 PROJECT SYNDICATE‘S EDITORS“If we lost the … More The U.S. Dollar’s Fall From Grace
Today I signed a letter authored by two economists with opposite political affiliations (Larry Summers and Phil Gramm.) Their letter states the case (to Congress) for opposing the use of tariffs as a general tool for economic policy. Two snippets from their letter close this posting. In my previous posting on the proposed Trump tariffs, … More Tariffs and Capital Flows
On January 14th, I participated in a Lawrence University Povolny Lecture Series Panel on how various aspects of U.S. foreign policy might change under the Trump administration. Panelists were asked to address the first two questions below; I added a third question. My sole focus was on trade policy.1) Which policies will likely stay the … More U.S. Trade Policy: Continuity or Change
In the January 31, 2021 issue of the Financial Times (FT), columnist Rana Foroohar titles her opinion piece “Joe Biden’s ‘Buy American’ isn’t bad, it’s necessary.” In this posting, I argue that the premise that “Buy American” will improve the standard of living of middle-income Americans – not to mention low income families – lacks … More “Buy American”: False Premises and False Promises
This blog posting seeks to provide some starting points for discussion about the benefits and costs of international trade. In this particular posting, I address aggregate national considerations and do not address either exchange rate effects or distributional effects within the U.S. or any other country. Those will be topics for future postings. In order to make … More Myths About International Trade
No Con Economics 