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Symposium

2024 Stephen C. Freidheim Symposium on Global Economics

2024 Stephen C. Freidheim Symposium on Global Economics
CFR

Event date



From Stephen C Freidheim Symposium and Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies.

This symposium was created to address the broad spectrum of issues affecting Wall Street and international economics. It was established through the generous support of Council board member Stephen C. Freidheim and is copresented by the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and RealEcon: Reimagining American Economic Leadership. 

In-Person Session One: Keynote With Secretary Janet Yellen

In this keynote session, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen discusses different perspectives on U.S. international economic policy, including arguments that the U.S. should withdraw from the global economy, efforts to deliver the benefits of global growth to Americans, how to address global challenges like pandemics, climate change, and conflict through partnerships, and how to strengthen competitiveness and national security.

Speaker

Presider

Transcript

FROMAN: Well, good afternoon, everybody, and welcome. My name is Mike Froman. I’m president of the Council on Foreign Relations.

And it’s great to be able to welcome Janet Yellen, the U.S. secretary of treasury, to be here for the Stephen C. Friedheim Symposium on Global Economics. Secretary Yellen is the 78th Treasury secretary. She’s also served as the chairman of the Federal Reserve and as the chair of the White House Council on Economic Advisers. So it’s a great honor to have you here.

We’re also honored to have Steve Friedheim here, who the symposium is supported by. Steve is a longtime member of the Council, a member of the Council board, and chair of our investment committee. And so we are very grateful to Steve, not only for support of his symposium but we’re keeping our endowment growing year on year and supporting the activities of the Council.

This is on the record. What we’re going to do is have the secretary give some remarks initially, then she and I will have a conversation for about thirty minutes or so, and then we’ll open it up to questions from people here in the audience, as well as people...

In-Person Session Two: Defining Economic Security

The second session explores two core mandates of the U.S. Treasury: safeguarding national security and promoting economic growth. Traditionally, these goals were pursued through economic openness, but recent shifts—such as reduced trade, increased sanctions, revived industrial policy, and supply-chain concerns—have forced policymakers to navigate trade-offs between security and growth. Panelists debate how to define “economic security” in the context of these challenges.

Speakers

  • Emily J. Blanchard
    Associate Professor of Economics, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth University; Former Chief Economist, U.S. Department of State (speaking virtually)
  • Matthew P. Goodman
    Distinguished Fellow, Director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, and Director of the CFR RealEcon Initiative, Council on Foreign Relations
  • David R. Malpass
    Former President, World Bank Group (2019-23); Former Undersecretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury (2017-19) (speaking virtually)
  • Elizabeth Rosenberg
    Managing Director, Global Financial Crimes Public Policy and Emerging Risk Executive, Bank of America; Former Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, U.S. Department of the Treasury (speaking virtually)

Presider

  • Rebecca Patterson
    Former Chief Investment Strategist, Bridgewater Associates, LP; CFR Member

Transcript

PATTERSON: Hi, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us here in New York and another 200-250 CFR members who are joining us today on Zoom.

I’m delighted to be presiding over the Council on Foreign Relations Freidheim Symposium second session, following Treasury Secretary Yellen, where we’re going to be trying to define economic security. And I feel like Treasury Secretary Yellen touched on this concept in a number of ways, and I’m really happy to have some wonderful panelists to go a little bit more into the weeds on this topic. We’re going to spend about thirty-five minutes or so having a conversation amongst ourselves, and then we’ll make sure we open it up to you in the room and on Zoom for questions and answers.

So you have biographies in the books that were given out to you, but let me just very quickly introduce our panelists and then we will get into the conversation. So we do have a group in person and on Zoom here too.

Dr. Emily Blanchard is the associate professor of economics in the Tuck School at Dartmouth University and former chief economist at the Department of State from 2022...