Benn Steil

  • Benn Steil

    Benn Steil

    Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics


    Contact Info:
    Phone: +1-212-434-9622
    E-mail: mholden@cfr.org


    Location:
    New York, NY


    Media downloads:
    One-page bio (PDF, 56K)

     

     

    Award-winning writer, and editor of the scholarly journal International Finance. His most recent book Money, Markets, and Sovereignty analyzes the historical relationship between money and national sovereignty and its importance in understanding contemporary globalization.

    Expertise:

    Financial markets; securities trading; international finance.

    Experience:

    Cofounder and managing member, Efficient Frontiers LLC, financial markets consultancy (current); Editor, International Finance (current); Director, International Economics Programme, Royal Institute of International Affairs (1992-98).

    Languages:

    French (familiar).

    Honors:

    Fellow, British-American Project.

    Selected Publications:

    Lessons of the Financial Crisis (Council Special Report, March 2009); Money, Markets, and Sovereignty (Yale University Press, 2009); Financial Statecraft (Yale University Press, 2006); Building a Transatlantic Securities Market, A Council Report (Council on Foreign Relations Press, 2002); Technological Innovation and Economic Performance (coeditor, Princeton University Press, 2002); Institutional Investors (coauthor, MIT Press, 2001); Antitrust Goes Global: What Future for Transatlantic Cooperation? (coeditor, Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2000); “Automation, Trading Costs, and the Structure of the Securities Trading Industry,” Brookings-Wharton Papers on Financial Services (coauthor, January 1999); The European Equity Markets (Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1996); International Financial Market Regulation (John Wiley & Sons, 1994); numerous articles in journals and periodicals such as Economica, Foreign Affairs, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times.


    Current Research Projects


    Past Research Projects


    Publications

    By Region | By Issue | By Publication Type | By Date

     

    • 109 items


    2010

    February 5, 2010

    Try Again
    Authors:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics
    Peter J. Wallison

    Op-Ed

    Foreign Policy

    Benn Steil and Peter Wallison argue that trying alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed before the military commission established by Congress is better than the Obama administration pretending that it accepts the legal implications of acquittal by a civilian court.

    See more in Terrorism and the Law

     

     

    January 18, 2010

    Central Banks Enter Age of Improvisation
    Author:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Financial News

    Benn Steil's January column in Dow Jones' Financial News argues that the monetary forces behind the crashes of 1929 and 2008 were very similar.  In the 1920s, as in the mid-2000s, Fed officials mistakenly thought that they had found, in the practice of trying to stabilize a price index, the holy grail of monetary policy. In consequence, central bankers are once again grasping for a new orthodoxy.

    See more in Financial Crises, International Finance

     

    2009

    December 29, 2009

    Prepare for a Keynesian Hangover
    Author:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Wall Street Journal

    Benn Steil argues that the U.S. is relying dangerously on massive government spending and lending to paper over its real problem—distorted incentives in the debt-encumbered banking system.

    See more in United States, Economics, U.S. Strategy and Politics

     

     

    Gauging the Dollar Decline

    October 19, 2009

    Gauging the Dollar Decline
    Interview by:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Roya Wolverson, Staff Writer, CFR.org

    Interview

    CFR's Benn Steil says the dollar's continuing decline could result in higher prices for major imports like energy and, in a worst-case scenario, might lead to higher inflation and interest rates.

    See more in Financial Crises, Trade

     

     

    October 19, 2009

    Dollar Diplomacy Flip-Flop is a Threat to Free Trade
    Author:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Financial News

    In Benn Steil's October column in Dow Jones' Financial News, he shows that the U.S. only calls for floating exchange rates when it believes the dollar will float down rather than up, and argues that this self-interested inconsistency is encouraging China and America's other major creditors to move away from non-discriminatory multilateral trade as they seek to lessen their dependence on the dollar.

    See more in Financial Crises, Trade

     

     

    August 24, 2009

    Good Riddance to DB Pensions
    Author:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Financial News

    In the first of his new monthly columns for Financial News, Benn Steil argues that private as well as public sector defined benefit pension schemes are a major risk to taxpayers, and should be replaced by defined contribution schemes.

    See more in Business and Foreign Policy, International Finance

     

     

    Why Keynes Was Wrong, And Why It Matters

    May 15, 2009

    Why Keynes Was Wrong, And Why It Matters
    Author:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Forbes Online

    Benn Steil argues that Keynes's General Theory demonstrably misapprehends the nature of money and the monetary system, and that shorn of its theoretical foundation, "fiscal stimulus" cannot be considered a harmless remedy.

    See more in Economics, Financial Crises, U.S. Strategy and Politics

     

     

    May 14, 2009, New York

    Media Conference Call: Lessons of the Financial Crisis
    Speaker:
    Benn Steil, International Economics Fellow, CFR
    Presider:
    Sebastian Mallaby, International Economics Fellow, CFR

    Transcript

    CFR experts Benn Steil and Sebastian Mallaby discuss the lessons learned from the current financial crisis.

    See more in Financial Crises

     

     

    May 14, 2009

    Media Conference Call: Lessons of the Financial Crisis
    Speaker:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Sebastian Mallaby, Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics Deputy Director of Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

    Audio

    Listen to CFR experts Benn Steil and Sebastian Mallaby discuss the lessons learned from the current financial crisis.

    See more in Financial Crises

     

     

    May 12, 2009

    Fixing Finance: Reactions and Over-Reactions (Video)
    Speakers:
    Peter R. Fisher, Managing Director, BlackRock
    David S. Scharfstein, Edmund Cogswell Converse Professor of Finance and Banking, Harvard Business School
    Benn Steil, Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Alan S. Murray, Deputy Managing Editor and Executive Editor, Online, Wall Street Journal

    Video

    Watch experts examine steps taken to regulate financial markets and debate whether more should be done or if some actions should be undone.

    This session was part of the Stephen C. Freidheim Symposium on Global Economics: Financial Turbulence and U.S. Power, which was made possible through the generous support of Stephen C. Freidheim.

    See more in Financial Crises, International Finance

     

     

    May 12, 2009

    Fixing Finance: Reactions and Over-Reactions (Audio)
    Speakers:
    Peter R. Fisher, Managing Director, BlackRock
    David S. Scharfstein, Edmund Cogswell Converse Professor of Finance and Banking, Harvard Business School
    Benn Steil, Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Alan S. Murray, Deputy Managing Editor and Executive Editor, Online, Wall Street Journal

    Audio

    Listen to experts examine steps taken to regulate financial markets and debate whether more should be done or if some actions should be undone.

    This session was part of the Stephen C. Freidheim Symposium on Global Economics: Financial Turbulence and U.S. Power, which was made possible through the generous support of Stephen C. Freidheim.

    See more in Financial Crises, International Finance

     

     

    April 20, 2009

    Money, Markets, and Sovereignty (Audio)
    Speaker:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Reuben Jeffery III, Former Undersecretary for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State

    Audio

    Listen to Benn Steil, CFR Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, as he speaks about his new book, Money, Markets, and Sovereignty, and the implications of monetary nationalism for today’s global economy.

    See more in Economics, International Finance, Trade

     

     

    April 2, 2009

    The G-20 London Summit
    Speakers:
    Richard Clarida, C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Columbia University
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Merit E. Janow, Law School and School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

    Transcript

    The following is a transcription from a Council on Foreign Relations meeting on the Group of 20 (G-20).

    See more in EU, Economics, Humanitarian Organizations

     

     

    April 1, 2009

    The G-20 London Summit (Video)
    Speakers:
    Richard H. Clarida, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Columbia University
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Merit E. Janow, Professor of International Economic Law and International Affairs, Columbia University; Former Member of the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body

    Video

    Watch experts remark on what is at stake at the G-20 London summit and outline possible policy options for member countries.

    See more in Financial Crises, Geoeconomics, Trade

     

     

    April 1, 2009

    The G-20 London Summit (Audio)
    Speakers:
    Richard H. Clarida, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Columbia University
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Merit E. Janow, Professor of International Economic Law and International Affairs, Columbia University; Former Member of the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body

    Audio

    Listen to experts remark on what is at stake at the G-20 London summit and outline possible policy options for member countries.

    See more in Financial Crises, Geoeconomics, Trade

     

     

    Money, Markets, and Sovereignty

    March 2009

    Money, Markets, and Sovereignty
    Authors:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics
    Manuel Hinds, Former Salvadoran Finance Minister

    Book

    In this keenly argued book, the authors present a fascinating intellectual history of monetary nationalism from the ancient world to the present and explore why, in its modern incarnation, it represents the single greatest threat to globalization.

    See more in Economics

     

     

    March 30, 2009

    The 1920s: Bubble, Growth, or Gold? (Audio)
    Speakers:
    Michael Bordo, Professor of Economics and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial History, Rutgers University
    Edward C. Prescott, 2004 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences; W.P. Carey Chair in Economics, W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Richard Sylla, Henry Kaufman Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets and Professor of Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University
    Introductory Speaker:
    Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Robert E. Rubin, Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations

    Audio

    Listen to experts give a historical analysis of the 1920s and the causes of the Great Depression, including monetary policy and the stock market crash in 1929.

    This session was part of the CFR-New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business symposium: A Second Look at the Great Depression, which was made possible through the generous support of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

    See more in Economics, Financial Crises

     

     

    March 30, 2009

    The 1920s: Bubble, Growth, or Gold? (Video)
    Speakers:
    Michael Bordo, Professor of Economics and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial History, Rutgers University
    Edward C. Prescott, 2004 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences; W.P. Carey Chair in Economics, W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Richard Sylla, Henry Kaufman Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets and Professor of Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University
    Introductory Speaker:
    Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Robert E. Rubin, Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations

    Video

    Watch experts give a historical analysis of the 1920s and the causes of the Great Depression, including monetary policy and the stock market crash in 1929.

    This session was part of the CFR-New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business symposium: A Second Look at the Great Depression, which was made possible through the generous support of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

    See more in Economics, Financial Crises

     

     

    March 30, 2009, New York

    The 1920s: Bubble, Growth, or Gold?
    Speakers:
    Michael Bordo, Professor of Economics, Director, Center for Monetary and Financial History, Rutgers University
    Benn Steil, Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Richard Sylla, Henry Kaufman Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets, Professor of Economics, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University
    Edward C. Prescott, 2004 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, W.P. Carey Chair of Economics, W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University
    Presider:
    Robert E. Rubin, Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations

    Transcript

    Session One of a Council on Foreign Relations Symposium on a Second Look at the Great Depression and the New Deal. A panel focusing on what occurred economically during the 1920s that contributed to the Crash in 1929.

    See more in United States, Economics

     

     

    The Future of the Dollar: Currency Challenges in a Globalized World

    Winter 2009

    The Future of the Dollar: Currency Challenges in a Globalized World
    Author:
    Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics

    Article

    Harvard International Review

    Benn Steil argues that the world has no attractive alternatives to the current dollar-based international monetary system, but that the dollar's days of coasting on the accomplishments of the Volcker Fed are over. The Fed must demonstrate to the world anew that the dollar is a reliable long-term store of value.

    See more in Financial Crises, International Finance

     
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    United States in the New Asia cover imageThis report addresses pan-Asian and trans-Pacific architectures and guidelines for how the United States can revise its approach in order to consolidate and improve the efficacy of these Asian institutions.

    Complete list of Council Special Reports

    New Books

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    Complete list of CFR Books

    David Rockefeller Studies Program Contacts

    For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:

    James M. Lindsay
    Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
    +1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
    jlindsay@cfr.org

    Janine Hill
    Deputy Director of Studies Administration
    +1.212.434.9753
    jhill@cfr.org

     

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