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.
Timothy A. Wise has been following up on his report of one year ago, “Resolving the Food Crisis,” with a new assessment and new research. He and co-author Sophia Murphy published in Al Jazeera a one-year assessment of progress – and the lack thereof – in addressing the root causes of the food crisis: biofuels expansion, financial speculation, low public food reserves, climate change, and weak investment in smallholder agriculture at a time with foreign investors continue to gobble up land in developing countries. The assessment followed Wise’s earlier analysis in World Politics Review, “Global Food Security in a Volatile World.” He presented his research at the U.N. Committee on World Food Security in October, participating in the institution’s civil society discussions and in an expert panel on food reserves. In November, GDAE hosted U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter. (Watch his presentation here.)
In October, Wise released new studies on two of the drivers of high and volatile food prices. In Mexico, he presented “Achieving Mexico’s Maize Potential,” a comprehensive review, with co-authors Antonio Turrent and Elise Garvey, of Mexico’s potential to reduce its import dependence by investing in smallholders. The paper, which was also released in Spanish by the Woodrow Wilson Center, was widely covered in the Mexican press and in an IPS wire story, “Mexico Could Say Goodbye to Imported Maize.” Wise presented the main findings in a Triple Crisis post. The work is part of Wise’s research on Revaluing Smallholder Farms.
Recent Publications:
Resolving the food crisis: The need for decisive action, Timothy A. Wise and Sophia Murphy, Al Jazeera, Jan 30, 2013
¿Un mejor trato? Análisis comparativo de los préstamos chinos en América Latina, Kevin P. Gallagher, Amos Irwin, and Katherine Koleski, Centro de Estudios China-México UNAM, Jan 2013
The IMF’s New View on Financial Globalization: A Critical Assessment, Kevin P. Gallagher, Pardee Center Issues in Brief, No. 26, Dec 2012
Chinese Investment and Sustainable Development in Peru: A Comparative Analysis, Amos Irwin and Kevin P. Gallagher, Working Group Discussion Paper DP34, Dec 2012
Capitalizing on the China Cycle: Time is Running out For Latin America, Kevin P. Gallagher, Inter-American Dialogue Policy Brief, Dec 2012
The Social Cost of Self-Insurance: Financial Crisis, Reserve Accumulation, and Developing, Countries, Kevin P. Gallagher and Elen Shrestha, Global Policy Journal, Nov 2012
Global Food Security in a Volatile World, Timothy A. Wise, World Politics Review, Nov 6, 2012
Chinese FDI in Latin America: Does Ownership Matter? Enrique Dussel Peters. Working Group Discussion Paper DP33, Nov 2012
Achieving Mexico’s Maize Potential, Antonio Turrent Fernández, Timothy A. Wise, and Elise Garvey, GDAE Working Paper 12-03, Oct 2012
Fueling the Food Crisis: The Cost to Developing Countries of US Corn Ethanol Expansion Timothy A. Wise and Marie Brill, ActionAid Policy Report, Oct 2012.
The Cost to Developing Countries of U.S. Corn Ethanol Expansion, Timothy A. Wise, GDAE Working Paper 12-02, Oct 2012
Global Financial Reform and Trade Rules: The Need for Reconciliation, Kevin P. Gallagher and Leonardo E. Stanley, Pardee Center Issues in Brief, No. 24, Sept 2012