In Memory of Fred Lee

Triple Crisis sadly reports the passing of economist Fred Lee, described by our regular contributor Matías Vernengo as “a tireless builder of institutions, an activist for Post Keynesian, and institutionalist economics, creating space for heterodox economists.” As Matías puts it, Fred Lee “will be sorely missed.”

See Matías’s blog post in tribute to Fred Lee at Naked Keynesianism, here. See Fred Lee’s own narrative of how he became a heterodox economist, here.

What We’re Writing

Jayati Ghosh and C.P. Chandrasekhar, The Cotton Conundrum

S. Ibi Ajayi and Leonce Ndikumana, Capital Flight from Africa: Causes, Effects, and Policy Issues; selected chapters available as Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) working papers.

What We’re Reading

Transnational Institute, Shifting Power: Critical Perspectives on Emerging Economies

Jeronim Capaldo, The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: European Disintegration, Unemployment and Instability

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The International Monetary Fund issued new guidelines on the use of capital account regulations, and GDAE’s co-sponsored Task Force on Regulating Capital Flows has continued to track and engage with the process. In a widely syndicated piece for the Project Syndicate, Gallagher called the reforms an important “half step,” important for acknowledging the value of such tools for developing countries to prevent damaging swings in currency values and contagion from international financial markets. His Pardee Policy Brief, “The IMF’s New View on Financial Globalization: A Critical Assessment,” goes into more detail. His Financial Times piece circulated widely, as did a piece on the issue by The Globalist, which appeared in China Daily, Valor Econômico (Brazil), The Financial Express (India). Gallagher also authored a provocative article in Global Policy, “Social Costs of Self-Insurance” that shows that the another way to regulate capital flows—by accumulating foreign exchange reserves—can be quite costly for emerging market and developing countries.

GDAE released new analysis of the incompatibilities between the new recognition of the validity of capital regulations and most U.S. trade agreements, which prohibit them. Gallagher teamed with the co-chair of a Pardee Task Force Leonardo E. Stanley to publish a policy brief, “Global Financial Reform and Trade Rules: The Need for Reconciliation,” in advance of the full Task Force Report, slated for release in March. Gallagher reiterated the contradictions in meetings with congressional leaders, and published his perspective in Al Jazeera, “Trade rules should not constrain fixing global finance.” While GDAE continues its work on Capital Flows and Development, Gallagher has been awarded a grant from the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) to collect some of his analysis on capital flows into a book.

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What We’re Reading
South Centre, The EPAs and Risks for Africa: Local Production and Regional Trade
Robert Pollin, The Great U.S. Liquidity Trap of 2009-11: Are We Stuck Pushing on Strings?
Columbia University, SIPA’s Ocampo and Co-Author Bértola Win Jaume Vicens Vivens Prize for Best Book on Spanish or Latin American Economic History
Stefano Pagliari, The Making of Good Financial Regulation. Towards a Policy Response to Regulatory Capture
Mark Halle, Life after Rio
Shiney Varghese, Human rights and Rio+20
IISD, Summary of the Meeting
Prideaux/MWN, ‘The Future We Want’ delivers little for migratory wildlife
FAO, Infosylva: Rio+20 Special Issue
Adam James, Andrew Light, Gwynne Taraska, How the Rio+20 Earth Summit Could Have Been Better
George Monbiot, After Rio, we know. Governments have given up on the planet
Tierney Smith and John Parnell, Rio+20: Five climate change ideas that didn’t make the Earth Summit outcome
Karen Hansen-Kuhn, Food, finance and climate crises are fundamental failures, not short-term glitches

What We’re Writing
Jayati Ghosh, India and the Credit Rating Agencies
C. P. Chandrasekhar, When the Law Takes its Course
Patrick Bond, Market Failure at the Rio+20 Earth Summit
Mark Blyth and Stephen Kinsella, Spain Is Now Making Ireland’s Mistakes