Skip to main content
Access provided by

Maurice Obstfeld

Maurice Obstfeld

8 commentaries

Maurice Obstfeld, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.

Sort by: Show:
  1. Trump’s Inflationary Triple Threat
    op_disparte1_SadikDemirozGetty Images_digitaldollar FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

    Trump’s Inflationary Triple Threat

    Nov 22, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld warns that the incoming administration’s agenda would weaken the Fed and destabilize the financial system.

  2. Donald Trump’s Tariffs Would Hurt US Workers and Businesses
    obstfeld6_Anthony KwanGetty Images_tariffs Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    Donald Trump’s Tariffs Would Hurt US Workers and Businesses

    Oct 22, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld shows why targeting an overall reduction in imports would reduce America’s real wages and national income.

  3. America’s Deficit Attention Disorder
    obstfeld5_ Justin SullivanGetty Images_trade Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    America’s Deficit Attention Disorder

    Aug 5, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld thinks the accumulation of public debt is a far more urgent problem than the trade balance.

  4. The Dangers of a US Capital Inflow Tax
    obstfeld4_Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post via Getty Images_trumplighthizer Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    The Dangers of a US Capital Inflow Tax

    Jun 14, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld worries that a little-known, highly costly method of deficit reduction is gaining political traction.

  5. Trump’s Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation
    Project Syndicate

    Trump’s Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation

    May 8, 2024 Maurice Obstfeld thinks the presumptive GOP nominee’s policies reflect an outdated understanding of the economy.

  1. reynolds1_Bill PuglianoGettyImages_trump_industrial_policy Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
    0

    Trump’s Industrial Policy Is More Continuity Than Disruption

    Elisabeth Reynolds thinks that rebuilding America’s manufacturing base has become a central pillar of the US economic agenda.
  2. bp oligarchy Photo by JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    Oligarchy in America

    Though Donald Trump attracted more support than ever from working-class voters in the 2024 US presidential election, he has long embraced an agenda that benefits the wealthiest Americans above all. During his second term, however, Trump seems committed not just to serving America’s ultra-rich, but to letting them wield state power themselves.

  3. elerian177_WPA PoolGettyImages_reeves_speech WPA Pool/Getty Images
    1

    Give the UK Growth Agenda a Chance

    Mohamed A. El-Erian sees promise in the current government’s economic-policy plan despite its imperfections.
  4. tharoor199_ Sonu MehtaHindustan Times via Getty Images_shahieidgah Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
    1

    Islam on Trial in India

    Shashi Tharoor warns that efforts to replace centuries-old mosques with Hindu temples could trigger communal violence.
  5. reichlin39_da-kukGetty Images_dollarcrypto da-kuk/Getty Images
    1

    Will Crypto Save the Dollar?

    Lucrezia Reichlin asks whether the Trump administration's stablecoin strategy can preserve the greenback's global hegemony.
  6. op_pei3_Hulton-Deutsch CollectionCORBISCorbis via Getty Images_zhouenlai Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images
    0

    The Tragedy of Zhou Enlai

    Minxin Pei

    The reputation of China's longest-serving premier has fared far better than that of the Maoist regime he faithfully served. Zhou's political survival skills enabled him to survive many purges, and even to steer Mao away from potential disasters, but he could not escape the Chairman's cruelty, even at the end of his life.

     reflects on the complicated life and legacy of the renowned diplomat who was Mao Zedong’s dutiful lieutenant.
  7. velasco156_Alex WroblewskiGettyImages_dnc_harris_buttons Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images
    2

    How Liberals Lost America

    Andrés Velasco attributes Donald Trump’s return to power to Democrats’ embrace of both moral neutrality and moral preachiness.
  8. halland10_TERJE PEDERSENNTBAFP via Getty Images_norwayukraineaid Terje Pedersenntb/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    Norway Should Cede Its War Windfall to Ukraine

    Håvard Halland & Knut Anton Mork say that the government's justifications for its war profiteering are disingenuous and short-sighted.
  9. bhide11_Anthony KwanGettyImages_deepseek Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
    1

    Is DeepSeek Really a Threat?

    Amar Bhidé explains what a purported Chinese AI breakthrough does and does not mean for the industry.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.