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Benn Steil

Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics

Expertise

International finance; financial markets; economic policy.

Programs

Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies

Featured Publications

Book

Money, Markets, and Sovereignty

Authors: Benn Steil and Manuel Hinds

A fascinating intellectual history of monetary nationalism from the ancient world to the present exploring why, in its modern incarnation, it represents the single greatest threat to globalization.

See more in Economics

All Publications

Interview

Gauging the Dollar Decline

Interview by: Benn Steil and Roya Wolverson

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

Op-Ed

Dollar Diplomacy Flip-Flop is a Threat to Free Trade

Author: Benn Steil
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

Book

Money, Markets, and Sovereignty

Authors: Benn Steil and Manuel Hinds

A fascinating intellectual history of monetary nationalism from the ancient world to the present exploring why, in its modern incarnation, it represents the single greatest threat to globalization.

See more in Economics

Article

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

Author: Benn Steil
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

Council Special Report No. 45

Lessons of the Financial Crisis

Author: Benn Steil

In this report, Benn Steil shows that the financial crisis is the inevitable bust of a classic credit boom, and explains how monetary, taxation, and home ownership promotion policy combined with other features of the financial system to fuel an unsustainable buildup in debt. He recommends significant reforms to reverse the debt financing bias and make the system more resilient to falls in asset prices. This report is also available in Arabic.

See more in Financial Crises, International Finance

Op-Ed

California's Sovereign Wealth Fund

Author: Benn Steil
Wall Street Journal

In this Wall Street Journal op-ed, Benn Steil argues that Calpers, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, is best viewed as a highly political "sovereign wealth fund." Governed by state political figures and union representatives, Calpers' investment decisions are frequently guided by foreign policy and social agendas rather than fundholder interests.

See more in United States, Corporate Governance, Economic Development