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Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics
Contact Info:
Phone: +1.202.509.8446
E-mail: smallaby@cfr.org
Location:
Washington, DC
November 12, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Since the breaking of the gold link, the dollar has become the world's primary measure of value. But the dollar, like the gold standard before it, is under pressure. For the United States, a falling dollar means pricier imports but also an export boom that could carry the economy through its housing bust. Yet, for countries that use the euro, a weak dollar means a loss of competitiveness. And for dollar-pegging Asian exporters, a falling dollar worsens the export boom that is overheating their economies. So the world faces a dilemma. Sebastian Mallaby argues that a long-term goal of an alternative global currency may be in order.
See more in Geoeconomics, International Finance
October 29, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
As the presidential campaign heats up, Barack Obama has come out swinging against Hillary Clinton. In this Washington Post op-ed, Sebastian Mallaby writes that, alone among the Democratic candidates, Clinton has the honesty to insist that the case for war in Iraq was reasonable at the time - even if, with the benefit of hindsight, the invasion has proved disastrous. She is not running away from military power, even in a political climate that makes running attractive. Likewise on Iran, Clinton is the only one to insist that sanctions are less a prelude to war than a means of forestalling it. Mallaby claims that it is impressive and surprising that Clinton has risen above Bush hatred in forming her worldview.
See more in United States, Foreign Policy History, U.S. Election 2008
October 15, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
After the failed presidency of his predecessor, Robert Zoellick is off to a good start. He has set himself up as an uncompromising booster- cutting interest rates on loans to middle-income countries to encourage them to borrow more and mobilizing money to increase assistance to the poorest. Zoellick also recognizes that the World Bank can be used as a tool to manage the challenges presented by both globalization and rising powers such as China and India. Sebastian Mallaby argues that the best shot at channeling the rising nations' power constructively is to reduce the political deficit in globalization- and Robert Zoellick is looking to do just that.
See more in United States, International Finance
October 1, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
President Bush is poised to veto a bill that would expand health care for poor children, despite the fact that the bill has bipartisan backing and two-thirds of the public say they like it. Bush’s objection to Congress's proposal is that it represents "an incremental step toward the goal of government-run health care." In this Washington Post op-ed, Sebastian Mallaby argues that some degree of government intervention in health care is both inevitable and desirable.
See more in United States, U.S. Election 2008
September 23, 2007
Article
Washington Post
Politicians are supposed to be the masters of persuasion, flattery and spin; technocrats just the opposite. In a review of The Age of Turbulence, Alan Greenspan’s new book, Sebastian Mallaby claims that Greenspan succeeded as much through charm as through his skills as an economist.
See more in United States, Business & Foreign Policy, U.S. Election 2008
September 17, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
With OPEC flexing its muscles, the United States needs to make energy security a priority once again. In this Washington Post op-ed, Sebastian Mallaby argues that the United States ought to be boosting cooperation with fellow oil-consuming nations, particularly China. He advocates a proposal by Samuel Berger to form a multilateral green energy fund, in which China might invest some of the huge wealth created by its trade surpluses.
See more in China, Energy Security
September 3, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Foreign assistance is an industry in itself: Every year, governments and charities spend some $200 billion on projects in poor countries. Development Executive Group, founded by Raj Kumar seven years ago, aspires to bring Bloomberg efficiency to the development business. In this Washington Post op-ed, Sebastian Mallaby claims that foreign assistance is ripe for a Bloomberg-style leap forward.
See more in Economic Development, International Organizations, Technology and Foreign Policy
August 20, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
The most vivid image amid last week's financial turmoil came from the nation's biggest mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp. Scenes at Countrywide branches conjured those grainy black-and-white images of Depression-era bank runs. Fear has taken over, and sound institutions are suffering along with poorly managed ones. Sebastian Mallaby argues that markets are punishing Countrywide irrationally - and dozens of other basically sound companies are caught up in the maelstrom.
See more in Economics
August 16, 2007
Interview
Sebastian Mallaby, director of CFR’s Center for Geoeconomic Studies, says the skewed governing securities ratings agencies is partly to blame for stock market turmoil.
See more in United States, Western Europe, Border and Ports, Economics, International Finance
August 13, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
The current subprime mortgage meltdown is part of a time-honored story. Despite the fact that there is more pain to come in this shakeout, Sebastian Mallaby argues that the market for subprime mortgages will eventually revive and thrive, just as it did with subprime’s close cousin, the junk bond.
See more in Economics
July 23, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
If Congress is serious about reducing carbon emissions, it should avoid using Kyota as a template for carbon policy, argues Sebastian Mallaby.
See more in Economic Development, Climate Change, Energy
July 9, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
For Rep. Nancy Pelosi to push constructive change through Congress, she will need to confront two Democractic committee chairs on the issues of energy and farm subsidies, argues Sebastian Mallaby.
See more in Energy/Environment, Congress, U.S. Election 2008
June 25, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
The growth of vast government-controlled investment funds abroad means foreign governments will increasingly have a say in how corporate America is run, writes Sebastian Mallaby.
See more in Geoeconomics, International Finance
June 11, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
The Republican Party prides itself on understanding globalization when it comes to capital flows or trade, but the debate on immigration reform in the United States shows that Democrats may be supplanting Republicans as the grown-ups on this issue.
See more in United States, Immigration, U.S. Election 2008
May 28, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
See more in United States, Defense/Homeland Security, Immigration
May 18, 2007
Article
Washington Post
Sebastian Mallaby explains why the next World Bank president should continue the campaign against corruption in developing countries established by Paul Wolfowitz.
See more in Business & Foreign Policy, International Organizations
May 14, 2007
Article
Washington Post
See more in International Organizations
May 2, 2007
Podcast
CFR Senior Fellow Sebastian Mallaby says failure to resolve the controversy surrounding World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz can erode support for the bank, and U.S. initiatives.
See more in International Organizations
April 30, 2007
Op-Ed
The Washington Post
See more in United States, Immigration
May/June 2007
Article
Council on Foreign Relations
See more in Geoeconomics, Labor, Health, Science, and Technology
Explore the international finance regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He 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.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
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
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Deputy Director of Studies Administration
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jhill@cfr.org
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