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Senior Fellow for Economic History
Contact Info:
Phone: +1-212-434-9500
E-mail: ashlaes@cfr.org
Location:
New York, NY
July 17, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
Is this the end of Republicans and their Reaganite philosophy? In this Bloomberg article, Amity Shlaes argues that to assign responsibility for the current economic crisis to Reaganomics or Republicans alone is worse than crisis revisionism. It is absurd.
See more in Economics
July 12, 2008
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Speaking honestly about the economy can be dangerous politically, as Phil Gramm found out last week. In this Washington Post article, Amity Shlaes argues that the way to strengthen the economy right now is to elect leaders who dare to talk frankly about our problems, and then act on them.
See more in Economics, Media and Foreign Policy
July 9, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
In this Bloomberg article, Amity Shlaes examines the “connection premium” of various business schools and asks what the dollar value is of having university connections in the business world.
See more in Economics
July 3, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
The Great Depression and the New Deal point to two seemingly contradictory responses to a serious economic slump. In this Bloomberg article, Amity Shlaes argues that the political consumer will prefer calls for New Deal-style collective action on the economy, while the cultural consumer will prefer hearing about the strength of the individual to overcome tough odds.
See more in Economics, Society and Culture, Presidency
June 25, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
In this Bloomberg article, Amity Shlaes argues that John McCain’s fiscal program may look expensive on paper but it will provide a valuable infrastructure that will shore up the American house in ways that will prove more than worth it later.
See more in Economics, Presidency
June 18, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
In the early part of the 20th century, wary merchants used the gold clause to hedge against inflation. Amity Shlaes describes the ongoing legal battle over the Halle building in Cleveland that highlights the implications of the dollar’s increasingly unpredictable movements.
See more in Economics, International Finance
June 12, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Sun
Welcome to the new era of tax intelligence—the more complex, the better. In this New York Sun article, Amity Shlaes argues that Democrats are adroit at developing such proposals, yet many of the likely tax increases would deal a blow to American competitiveness.
June 5, 2008
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
People these days fear inflation. In this Wall Street Journal op-ed, Amity Shlaes examines President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s move away from the gold standard in 1933 and the implications of the end of the “gold clause” as an inflation hedge.
See more in Economics
May 29, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Sun
In a new report, Nobelists Michael Spence and Robert Solow—and other big names in economics—suggest new rules for developing countries to supplant the unloved Washington Consensus. While there is a lot to like in The Growth Report, Amity Shlaes says that it misses some important notes. In fact, Miss Shlaes writes that the Washington Consensus is still good, and updating the name may be all we need.
See more in Economic Development
May 21, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
The aftermath of the catastrophe in China exposed the levels of corruption in regional Chinese politics. Amity Shlaes explains how this corruption worsened the damage caused by the earthquake and compares it to Louisiana.
See more in China
May 19, 2008
Op-Ed
In this article, Amity Shlaes explains the various policies that have led to the creation of a dynamic entrepreneurial environment in the United States. She finds that venture capital has had a significant role in empowering entrepreneurs across the United States.
May 9, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Sun
Amity Shlaes writes that Harold M. Ickes’ strategies have not worked for Hillary Clinton’s campaign and compares his tactics to those of his father, FDR’s strategist, Harold M. Ickes.
See more in U.S. Election 2008
May 2, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
Hillary Clinton wants a windfall tax to subsidize a summer gas tax holiday for drivers. In this New York Sun article, Amity Shlaes uses the great Windfall-Profit tax of 1980 to demonstrate why we should oppose such a tax. While Mrs. Clinton may believe she's found a political windfall, the plans are so poorly crafted they may prove to be what wipes her out.
See more in U.S. Election 2008
April 22, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg.com
While Pennsylvania happens to be the physical location of the latest contest between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, in terms of political culture, their duel is situated in Chicago. Amity Shlaes writes that the battle can be viewed as one between two neighborhoods on the Windy City's South Side—the “Daleyesque clout” of Bridgeport and the “liberalism at its best” of Hyde Park. Yet, the Hyde Parker eventually morphs into a Bridgeporter.
See more in U.S. Strategy and Politics, U.S. Election 2008
April 17, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Sun
Amity Shlaes explains why “this economy is to the Great Depression what an April drizzle is to Hurricane Katrina.”
See more in Economics, U.S. Election 2008
April 16, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
The current economic slowdown has recently been compared to the Great Depression of the 1930s. In this Bloomberg column, Amity Shlaes argues that this analogy is absurd; stocks have not declined nearly as substantially, unemployment is nowhere near 1930s levels, and only one big bank has collapsed. The U.S. simply can’t afford to luxuriate in a Depression image; doing so takes away time from devising policies that would really make the economy more competitive.
See more in Economics, U.S. Election 2008
April 9, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
“These days, nobody seems to doubt that the U.S. dollar will lose its status as the world’s reserve currency. To watch the financial news channels you would think that the dollar-yuan relationship is so unstable that the only question is whether it will be Ben Bernanke or Chinese monetary authorities who will determine the details of the breakdown. Perhaps the dollar won’t be surrender its anchor role so soon. And perhaps that loss, if it comes, will happen because of events that take place nowhere near men in suits at a central bank. Maybe the answer to the dollar’s riddle can be found in the cellphone photo image of a Tibetan monk in crimson and orange squaring off with a Chinese soldier.” Amity Shlaes looks at the role of China in the future of the US dollar.
See more in United States, China, East Asia, Economics
April 2008
Other Report
Intuition tells us that oil-rich countries are not friendly to the United States, and that entreprenurial—or “smart”—countries are not endowed with oil. In this Center for Geoeconomic Studies Working Paper, the authors find a triangular relationship between oil wealth, entrepreneurial spirit, and friendliness to the United States. They confirm the idea that “oily” countries are not U.S.-friendly, in contrast to smart countries, which are friendly to the United States and do not have oil. The authors conclude that it is in the U.S. interest to support education and economic diversification in petro-states so those states can become more entrepreneurial and friendly.
See more in Geoeconomics
March 26, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg
More government is the remedy that the U.S. Congress is reaching for as it moves to evaluate the Bear Stearns Cos. disaster. In this New York Sun article, Amity Shlaes recounts another banking catastrophe, the story of Bank of United States, to show that government involvement can also be a curse—especially when the role of public officials and institutions is unclear.
See more in Economics
March 26, 2008
Article
YaleGlobal
In this YaleGlobal piece, Amity Shlaes and Gaurav Tiwari examine entrepreneurship and oil wealth in various countries and how these factors relate to a country’s policy towards the U.S. They find that there is indeed a significant positive relationship between the pro-US votes and the level of enterprise in a country, and that countries with oil tend to be less entrepreneurial as well as less friendly to the US. It seems clear that the US would benefit not only from helping countries strengthen education, the rule of law and free trade, but also from supporting the entrepreneurial culture of any country where the US has an interest.
See more in Business & Foreign Policy, Energy, U.S. Strategy and Politics
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:
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