Professor Voices » William Grimes

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

William Grimes on NECN: Economic impact of Japanese earthquake

Jo Breiner — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:32:22 +0000

William Grimes, chairman of the International Relations Department at Boston University, appeared on NECN’s “This Week in Business” offering his perspective on the economic situation and impact of the Japanese earthquake.

“The big parts of the disruption have to do with supply chain issues and electrical power generation, in terms of the country as a whole.”

Watch full interview here.

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

Experts available to comment on Japan earthquake, tsunami

Jo Breiner — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:33:42 +0000

The following Boston University professors are available to offer expert commentary, analysis and insight on the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan early this morning, as well as the economic, political, and cultural impact on the country.

Colleen Dalton, Assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences; Investigates the structure of the Earth’s interior using seismic waves generated by earthquakes

Contact 617-358-5433, dalton@bu.edu

Thomas Berger, Associate professor of International Relations; Expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy

Contact 617-353-5351, tuberger@bu.edu

William Grimes, Chair of the Department of International Relations; Expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy; Helped to found BU Center for the Study of Asia

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

Merry White, Professor of Anthropology; Expert on Japanese culture and can offer perspective on the unique meaning of ‘disaster’ in Japan.

Contact corky@bu.edu, or call Dick Taffe in Public Relations at 617-353-4626