Professor Voices » IMF

IMF issues warning to US on debt crisis

Jo Breiner — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:08:23 +0000

The International Monetary Fund has issued a warning that the US take urgent action in raising the debt ceiling, adding that a credit downgrade could damage the global economy. Kevin Gallagher, an associate professor of international relations at Boston University, is an expert on global and economic policy. His article, “Why the US must raise its debt ceiling,” was recently published in The Guardian. He is available to comment on the warning issued by the IMF.

Contact Kevin at 617-353-9348 or kpg@bu.edu

IMF names new chief

Kira Jastive — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:57:21 +0000

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today named Christine Lagarde as its new chief. Boston University School of Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the BU Center for Finance, Law & Policy and former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, offers the following comment:

“With Lagarde taking over the helm of the IMF, the global financial system finally has a spokesperson with the intelligence and the communications skills to articulate the grave threats facing us. It could not have taken place at a more opportune time.

“To date, ideologues in the U.S. and Europe have waged their sophomoric battles — witness the Greek and U.S. debt crises — without adult supervision. I believe Ms. Lagarde is up to the task.”

Contact Hurley at ckhurley@bu.edu or 617-353-5427.

Lagarde’s IMF bid

Jo Breiner — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:16:55 +0000

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced her candidacy to lead the International Monetary Fund. Boston University professor William Grimes is chair of BU’s Department of International Relations. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and author of “Currency and Contest in East Asia.” He offers the following comments on Lagarde’s bid:

“Lagarde’s announcement appears to confirm French claims that China has informally given her its support.

“It will be interesting to see what the quid pro quo will be for China — particularly given the claim by a People’s Bank spokesperson that China is more concerned about the dominant voting position of the United States than about continued European leadership.

“In fact, of course, the U.S. has a reasonable quota based on its size and influence (in fact, it is arguably even slightly underrepresented), while Europe as a whole is wildly overrepresented.

“Another irony of the situation is that the U.S. has been pushing for greater Chinese quota shares against European resistance for the better part of a decade.”

Contact William Grimes, 617-353-9420, wgrimes@bu.edu

IMF succession fight

Jo Breiner — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:41:02 +0000

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as the head of the International Monetary Fund as he faces sexual assault charges. Boston University School of Law professor Cornelius Hurley is the director of BU’s Center for Finance, Law & Policy (formerly the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law) and former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors. He offers the following comment on the impending IMF succession fight:

“As global efforts to harmonize financial regulation founder, the new IMF chief will be in a unique position to redirect the discussion. France’s Christine Lagarde has the skills and credibility to play a leadership role among the competing actors on the regulatory stage: G-20, ECB, Federal Reserve, Basel, and others.

“Implementation of national reforms, such as the Dodd-Frank Act in the U.S., is stymied by the ever-present threat of laxer reforms in foreign jurisdictions. The global stage lacks an eloquent spokesperson who can articulate a coordinated approach to financial regulations. Ms. Lagarde could fill that void.”

Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu, Twitter: @ckhurley