Newsletter: July 2024

Welcome to the Initiative for Policy Dialogue’s monthly newsletter. Founded in July 2000 by Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz, the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) works to broaden dialogue and explore trade-offs in development policy by bringing the best ideas in development to policymakers facing globalization’s complex challenges and opportunities. We strive to contribute to a more equitably governed world by democratizing the production and use of knowledge.
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Past Events

Is There Another Way? Debt Restructuring, the IMF, and the Future of Sri Lanka

June 10, 2024. Sri Lanka Foundation. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Hosted by YUKTHI Collective.

YUKTHI Collective, a plural research forum supporting working people’s movements and people’s struggles for democracy in Sri Lanka, hosted a seminar titled, “Is There Another Way? Debt Restructuring, the IMF, and the Future of Sri Lanka” during which IPD Co-president Martín Guzmán (Columbia University, SIPA), International Development Economics Associate (IDEAS) Co-founder Jayati Ghosh (University of Massachusetts), and Executive Director of IDEAS Charles Abugre participated in a seminar discussion about IMF policy, international debt restructuring, and the implications of power imbalances for debtor countries.

Participants drew on the experiences of their respective home countries and others they have studied, including Argentina, Ghana, and Sri Lanka. Aburge described how impartial relationships between creditors and debtors exacerbate debt crises and how it’s crucial to understand underlying political dynamics. Guzmán argued that countries in distress should have their own debt sustainability analysis as well as clear national monetary and fiscal policies. Ghosh described how the IMF encouraged Sri Lanka to borrow from international capital markets, including through issuing sovereign bonds. Ghosh emphasized that debtor countries should coordinate at the international level to push against the IMF prioritizing the interests of private creditors over those of their citizens.

You can watch the discussion here.

Upcoming Events

Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz ‘Economics and the Good Society’ Speaking Tour with The Australia Institute

July 29 – August 14. Locations across Australia. Hosted by The Australia Institute.

As a guest of The Australia Institute, an independent, non-partisan research group, and in honor of its 30th anniversary celebrations, Joseph E. Stiglitz will participate in six events in Australia during the months of July and August.

In Sydney on July 29, Joseph E. Stiglitz will join in conversation with the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull AC, 29th Prime Minister of Australia & Dr Emma Shortis, senior researcher International & Security Affairs at the Australia Institute on: What’s Happening in the US? Implications for Australia.

In New South Wales on July 30, Stiglitz will give a public talk on Modern Industrial Policy.

In Hobart on August 1, Stiglitz will give a lecture on Economics and the Good Society.

In Melbourne on August 7, Stiglitz, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, chair of the Senate Inquiry into Greenwashing and Polly Hemming, Climate & Energy Director at the Australia Institute will engage in the conversation Greenwashing: How do we fix it?

In Canberra on August 12, Stiglitz and Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director of the Australia Institute will engage in conversation about The Role of Competition Policy in the Cost of Living Crisis.

In Perth on August 14, Stiglitz will in conversation with Richard Denniss, Executive Director of the Australia Institute, about how taxing resources fairly would benefit the Australian economy in an event titled Why Taxing the Export Gas Industry is Good for the Economy.

More information about the tour is available here.

Selected Media Appearances

Recent media about IPD team members and partners

Martin Guzman on Argentina’s Economy and the Push for Dollarization on Radio Con Vos (in Spanish)

Joseph E. Stiglitz on How to Build Shock-Proof Supply Chains on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots

Political Unrest Worldwide is Fueled by High Prices and Huge Debts — by Patricia Cohen and Jack Nicas for The New York Times

Behind the Deadly Unrest in Kenya, a Staggering and Painful National Debt — by Patricia Cohen for The New York Times

16 Nobel Prize-winning economists say Trump policies will fuel inflation — by Tim Reid for Reuters

Martin Guzman and Jayati Ghosh on Another Way for Debt Resolution on Ada Derana 24

Joseph E. Stiglitz on Saving Capitalism from Itself — by Ignacio Fariza in El Pais (in Spanish)

Recent Publications, Op-Eds and Papers

Policy Note: Addressing the debt crises in the Global South by Ishac Diwan, Martin Guzman, Martin Kessler, Vera Songwe, and Joseph E. Stiglitz

The Way Forward for Ukraine’s Economy by Joseph E. Stiglitz and Andrew Kosenko for Project Syndicate

The International Tax System is Broken but the UN Can Fix It—If Washington Gets Out of the Way by Joseph E. Stiglitz for Foreign Affairs

Open Letter: Sixteen Nobel Economists Sign Letter About Risks to the U.S. Economy of a Second Trump Presidency by Joseph E. Stiglitz et al.

Opportunities

Call for Papers: New Thinking on Industrial Policy: Perspectives from Developed and Developing Countries

Industrial policy is back on policy agendas in the U.S., Europe, and many developing countries. IPD, the Firms & Industrial Policy Idea Lab of the Center for Political Economy (CDEP) at Columbia University will host a conference on “New Thinking on Industrial Policy: Perspectives from Developed and Developing Countries,” Nov. 1-2, 2024.

IPD welcomes papers on the broad theme of industrial policy for consideration for the conference program. We are open to theoretical and empirical studies as well as reflections on practice.

We will consider extended abstracts or proposals for big-think talks. Submissions using the online form are due by Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at 11:59pm EDT. We expect to announce the program by Oct. 1, 2024.

The academic committee for the event is: Bilge Erten (Northeastern University), Martin Guzman (Columbia University), Reka Juhasz (University of British Columbia), Nathan Lane (Oxford University), Felipe Lobel (Columbia University), Juan Montecino (American University), Andrew Schrank (Brown University), Joseph E. Stiglitz (Columbia University), Eric Verhoogen (Columbia University), and Josh Whitford (Columbia University).

If you have questions, please contact Olena Jennings of CDEP at omj2101@columbia.edu.

Job Listing: Director of People and Operations at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)

CEPR is seeking qualified candidates for a full-time leadership position, Director of People and Operations. The director will collaborate with the organization’s leadership to develop and implement recruitment strategies, lead employee engagements, and oversee workplace needs for employees, among other responsibilities. CEPR conducts research on important social and economic problems to foster democratic debate. The deadline to apply is August 30, 2024.

More information is available here.

The Journal of Globalization and Development (JGD)

The Journal of Globalization and Development (JGD) publishes academic research and policy analysis on globalization, development, and in particular the complex interactions between them.

Editors: Kevin Gallagher, Professor, Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies; Director, Boston University Global Development Policy Center and Jeronim Capaldo, Senior Economist, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Senior Scholar, Global Development Policy Center, Boston University (BU).

Managing Editor: Gabriela Plump, Director, Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD), Columbia University.

The Journal of Globalization and Development’s Special Issue on the Gendered Effects of Globalization

With Guest Editors Jessica Leight, Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Bilge Erten, Associate Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Northeastern University; Co-editor, Review of Economics of the Household; Associate Editor, Feminist Economics.

Volume 14 Issue 2

For more information or to submit a paper to JGD, click here.

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