Jagdish N. Bhagwati

  • Jagdish N. Bhagwati

    Jagdish N. Bhagwati

    Senior Fellow for International Economics


    Contact Info:
    Phone: +1-212-434-9667
    E-mail: jbhagwati@cfr.org


    Location:
    New York, NY


    Media downloads:
    High-resolution photo (JPG, 2.2 MB)
    One-page bio (PDF, 64K)
    Video clip (MP4, 892K)
    Video clip (WMV, 750K)

     

     

    Author of In Defense of Globalization, special adviser to the UN and the World Trade Organization, and professor of economics at Columbia University. Latest book, Termites in the Trading System, discusses the deleterious effects of preferential trade agreements.

    Expertise:

    International trade; economic policy reforms; immigration.

    Experience:

    University Professor, Columbia University (current); member of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s high-level advisory group of the NEPAD process in Africa (current); external adviser to the director-general of the WTO (2001); Special Policy Adviser to the UN on globalization (2000); Economic Policy Adviser to the director-general of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (1991-93); Ford International Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1968-80).

    Languages:

    Gujarati and Hindi (fluent).

    Honors:

    The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star (Japan, 2006); Seidman Distinguished Award in International Political Economy (1998); Freedom Prize (Switzerland); Kenan Enterprise Award (United States); Bernhard Harms Prize (Germany); Mahalanobis Memorial Medal (India); John R. Commons Award (United States); Honorary Degrees from Sussex, Rotterdam, and other universities.

    Selected Publications:

    In Defense of Globalization (Oxford University Press, 2004); Free Trade Today (Princeton University Press, 2002); The Wind of the Hundred Days (MIT Press, 2000); A Stream of Windows: Unsettling Reflections on Trade, Immigration, and Democracy (MIT Press, 1998); India in Transition: Freeing the Economy (Oxford University Press USA, 1993); World Trading System at Risk (Prentice Hall Europe, 1991); Protectionism (MIT Press, 1988); Economics & Politics (founder and editor); The Journal of International Economics (founder and editor).

     

    Interviews and presentations:

    President Obama and Trade Policy (speech, World Affairs Council Summit; February 19, 2009)

    Does the United States need a new trade policy? (presentation, American Economic Association panel; January 3, 2009)

    Why the Critics of Globalization are Mistaken (presentation, American Academy in Berlin; August 2008)

    Economics is a Social Science (interview, Big Think, January 2008)

    Global Warming (presentation, Zurich Financial Services meeting, Florence, May 2008)

    On the Food Crisis (blog, with Jeffrey Sachs; "Managing Globalization," International Herald Tribune, May 7, 2008)


    Current Research Projects


    Publications

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

     

    • 91 items


    2010

    January/February 2010

    Banned Aid
    Author:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics

    Foreign Affairs Article — Summary

    As the Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo argues, the concept of foreign aid is flawed -- not just because corrupt dictators divert aid for nefarious or selfish purposes but also because even in reasonably democratic countries, aid creates perverse incentives and unintended consequences.

    See more in United States, Foreign Aid

     

    2009

    December 8, 2009

    A Thoughtless Tax
    Authors:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics
    Arvind Panagariya

    Op-Ed

    The Times of India

    Proposals that any carbon tax in developing countries which falls below the one in the developed countries should be offset through other means like border taxes spring from fears that have no basis in economic analysis, write Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya.

    See more in Trade, Climate Change, WTO

     

     

    Stricter Rules for Skilled-Worker Visas Are a Mistake

    November 12, 2009

    Stricter Rules for Skilled-Worker Visas Are a Mistake

    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics interviewed by Toni Johnson, Staff Writer, CFR.org

    Interview

    The recession has added fuel to the debate over skilled-worker visas, including a recent congressional effort to create stricter rules. CFR's Jagdish Bhagwati says the United States should be welcoming skilled workers and other immigrants.

    See more in North America, Immigration

     

     

    Legal Trade Barriers Must Be Kept in Check

    June 12, 2009

    Legal Trade Barriers Must Be Kept in Check
    Authors:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics
    Arvind Panagariya

    Op-Ed

    Financial Times

    Jagdish N. Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya argue that legal protectionism used indiscriminately could undermine the liberal trading system. When exhortation does not work, the threat of retaliation is needed to deter such protectionism.

    See more in Economics, Trade

     

     

    Check It

    April 1, 2009

    Check It
    Author:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics

    Op-Ed

    The New Republic

    Jagdish Bhagwati argues that the Employee Free Choice Act is a free trade compatible approach to dealing with the stagnation in workers' real wages.

    See more in Labor, Trade, Congress

     

     

    March 5, 2009

    Global Trade: Implications of the Current Crisis (Video)
    Speakers:
    Carla A. Hills, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hills & Company; Former U.S. Trade Representative; Cochair, Council on Foreign Relations
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    James Bacchus, Chair, Global Practice Group, Greenberg Traurig, LLP; Former Member and Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization; Former Member of Congress

    Video

    Watch experts debate the benefits of global trade and how the current crisis will affect the international trading system.

    See more in Financial Crises, Trade, WTO

     

     

    March 5, 2009

    Global Trade: Implications of the Current Crisis (Audio)
    Speakers:
    Carla A. Hills, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hills & Company; Former U.S. Trade Representative; Cochair, Council on Foreign Relations
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    James Bacchus, Chair, Global Practice Group, Greenberg Traurig, LLP; Former Member and Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization; Former Member of Congress

    Audio

    Listen to experts debate the benefits of global trade and how the current crisis will affect the international trading system.

    See more in Economics, Trade, WTO

     

     

    March 5, 2009, New York

    Global Trade: Implications of the Current Crisis
    Speakers:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, University Professor at Columbia University, CFR Senior Fellow in International Economics
    Carla A. Hills, Former U.S. Trade Representative and Chairwoman, CEO of Hills & Company
    Presider:
    James Bacchus, Chair, Global Practice Group, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

    Transcript

    A Council on Foreign Relations meeting on the current state and future prospects of international trade.

    See more in Financial Crises, Trade

     

     

    Gordon Brown Should Keep Obama Honest On Free Trade

    March 4, 2009

    Gordon Brown Should Keep Obama Honest On Free Trade
    Author:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Forbes Online

    Unlike the world's leaders at the last G20 meeting, President Obama has not turned his rhetoric loose against protectionism. In this Forbes.com article, Jagdish Bhagwati writes that Prime Minister Gordon Brown must ask the president to passionately defend trade and openness.

    See more in U.K., Trade, Congress

     

     

    February 6, 2009

    Media Conference Call: Trade Issues Relating To The "Buy American" Provision In The Stimulus Bill
    Speaker:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

    Audio

    Listen to CFR experts Jagdish Bhagwati and Edward Alden discuss the "Buy American" provision in the stimulus bill.

    See more in Economics, Trade

     

     

    February 5, 2009

    Trade Issues Relating To The "Buy American" Provision In The Stimulus Bill
    Speaker:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow For International Economics, Council On Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow, Council On Foreign Relations

    Transcript

    In this CFR conference call, Jagdish Bhagwati, Senior Fellow in International Economics, discusses the trades issues relating to the "Buy American" provision in the stimulus bill.

    See more in United States, Trade

     

     

    Obama Must Fight the Protectionist Virus

    February 4, 2009

    Obama Must Fight the Protectionist Virus
    Author:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Financial Times

    The Obama administration faces its two most protectionist challenges from the ‘Buy America' provisions in the stimulus package and the China bashing on ‘currency manipulation'. In this Financial Times op-ed, Jagdish Bhagwati argues that President Obama must fight protectionism right away or live to see the virus spread beyond control.

     

     

    See more in Economics, Trade

     

     

    Obama and Trade: An Alarm Sounds

    January 9, 2009

    Obama and Trade: An Alarm Sounds
    Author:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Financial Times

    In this Financial Times op-ed, Jagdish Bhagwati warns that Mr. Obama, who has properly denounced unilateralism, should not undermine the respect for the rule of law that the WTO embodies at the multilateral level.

    See more in Trade, U.S. Election 2008

     

    2008

    Does the Free Market Corrode Moral Character?

    November 24, 2008

    Does the Free Market Corrode Moral Character?
    Author:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics

    Op-Ed

    John Templeton Foundation

    Many critics believe that globalization sets back social and ethical agendas, arguing that globalization lacks a human face. But in this article for the John Templeton Foundation, Jagdish Bhagwati argues that actual outcomes are the opposite of those feared.

    See more in Economics, Trade

     

     

    We need to guard against destructive creation

    October 17, 2008

    We need to guard against destructive creation
    Author:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Financial Times

    There is an assumption that financial innovation is like non-financial innovation in that both are examples of what Joseph Schumpeter called "creative destruction". But in this Financial Times op-ed, Jagdish Bhagwati writes that the downside of financial innovation can be "destructive creation". We therefore need an independent commission of experts to look at the potential downsides of financial innovation.

    See more in Economics

     

     

    September 23, 2008

    Global Economic Trends: The Trading System
    Speaker:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow For International Economics, Council On Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, Director, Center For The Study Of Globalization, Yale University, Former President, United Mexican States

    Transcript

    A meeting with Jagdish Bhagwati, CFR senior fellow for international economics, and author of new book Termites In The Trading System: How Preferential Agreements Undermine Free Trade.

     

    See more in United States, Economics, Business and Foreign Policy, Economic Development, International Finance, Trade

     

     

    September 23, 2008

    Global Economic Trends: The Trading System (Audio)
    Speaker:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
    Presider:
    Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, Director, Center for the Study of Globalization, Yale University; Former President, Mexico

    Audio

    Listen to Jagdish N. Bhagwati, CFR's senior fellow for international economics, discuss the effects of preferential trade agreements on the international trading system and his recent book Termites in the Trading System, with former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo.

    See more in Economics, Trade

     

     

    Doha - The Last Mile

    August 21, 2008

    Doha - The Last Mile
    Authors:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics
    Arvind Panagariya

    Op-Ed

    New York Sun

    In this New York Sun op-ed, Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya make the case for optimism on the Doha Round. A compromise is possible if the U.S. agrees to cap trade-distorting subsidies at a minimum of the current payouts and India agrees to a downscaling of the Special Safeguard Mechanism.

    See more in Trade, WTO

     

     

    The Selfish Hegemon Must Offer a New Deal on Trade

    August 19, 2008

    The Selfish Hegemon Must Offer a New Deal on Trade
    Author:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics

    Op-Ed

    Financial Times

    As in the 1980s, the United States is once again a fearful giant.  In this Financial Times op-ed, Jagdish Bhagwati writes that only an agenda for institutional change that addresses the fragility of jobs and enables workers to face new uncertainties has a chance of returning trade policy to sanity.

    See more in Trade

     

     

    Termites in the Trade System

    July 2, 2008

    Termites in the Trade System
    Author:
    Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics

    Op-Ed

    New York Sun

    Because of their discriminatory effect and the preferential treatment they give to member nations, Free Trade Agreements must be placed on moratorium, writes Jagdish Bhagwati.

    See more in Trade, International Organizations

     
    • 91 items
  • The Global Oceans Regime

    GG Monitor

    Explore the international oceans regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.

    New Council Special Reports


    Intervention to Stop Genocide and Mass Atrocities

    Intervention to Stop Genocide and Mass Atrocities cover imageThis report explores how international legal rules regarding military force might evolve to better meet the challenges of mass atrocities.

    Enhancing U.S. Preventive Action

    Enhancing U.S. Preventive Action cover imageThe authors of this CSR explain why the United States needs to place greater emphasis on preventive action and how current organizational arrangements can be changed to meet that need.

    The United States in the New Asia

    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

    How Enemies Become Friends cover Through compelling analysis and rich historical examples that span the globe and range from the thirteenth century through the present, Charles A. Kupchan explores how adversaries can transform enmity into amity, and exposes prevalent myths about the causes of peace.

    Start-Up Nation cover With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine Israel's adversity-driven culture to offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.

    Forces of Fortune cover Vali Nasr reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.

    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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