Episodes

• 2018

• Should the United States Sanction Venezuelan Oil?

  Monica de Bolle argues that sanctioning Venezuela’s oil company PDVSA will worsen the country's humanitarian crisis but will likely not change President Nicolas Maduro's behavior.
  February 12, 2018

• Coalition Agreement Is Germany’s and Europe’s Best Bet

  Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard argue that there is reason to be optimistic that a government coalition of Merkel's Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats could work on reforms with French president Emmanuel Macron.
  February 9, 2018

• Fixing China's Financial Credit System

  Hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens still use costly informal credit where they lack access to a formal financial system. Martin Chorzempa says that Chinese officials should work with private companies to improve the rules around sharing while protecting consumer data that will provide fair priced loans to Chinese people.
  February 5, 2018

• Trump's 2018 Trade Policy: What to Expect

  Chad P. Bown cautions the Trump administration that its unconventional trade policies—such as imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum, and over intellectual property—could lead to conflict with some of the United States’ largest trading partners.
  February 1, 2018

• Talking Down the Dollar

  Joseph E. Gagnon and Edwin M. Truman discuss the pros and cons of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s comments perceived as seeking depreciation of the dollar.
  January 30, 2018

• Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Unfair to Whom?

  Gary Clyde Hufbauer argues that the criticism of the procedure set up in trade agreements to settle disputes between multinational corporations and states in which they invest is largely unwarranted. There is room for improvements in its procedures and processes, however.
  January 16, 2018
• 2017

• Is Venezuela Close to Defaulting?

  Monica de Bolle argues that Venezuela is giving higher priority to paying its foreign creditors than to the Venezuelan people.
  November 7, 2017

• Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) Are Valuable But Need Strong Regulations

  Daniel Heller and Martin Chorzempa believe that policymakers need to create a regulatory framework for initial coin offerings.
  November 6, 2017

• Can the US Spend Like Denmark without Taxing Like It?

  At a recent CNN town hall debate between Senators Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz, Jacob Funk Kirkegaard questioned the validity of Senator Sanders’ policy proposals to spend like a Scandinavian country while only raising taxes on the wealthiest citizens. In this Peterson Perspectives interview, Kirkegaard discusses Denmark’s effective tax rate where middle class citizens are taxed nearly 50 percent of their income.
  October 23, 2017

• AIG Is No Longer Too Big To Fail

  Nicolas Véron says that rescinding AIG’s status as “systemically important” will not lead to financial instability.
  October 4, 2017

• Prime Minister May's Offer on EU Citizens' Rights

  Jacob Funk Kirkegaard says Prime Minister Theresa May’s offer to grant EU citizens certain rights in the United Kingdom does not go far enough.
  June 26, 2017

• China's Sovereign Credit Downgrade

  Nicholas R. Lardy explains that the downgrade of China’s sovereign credit rating will have minimal economic impact.
  May 26, 2017

• Is Brazil Headed for Another Recession?

  Monica de Bolle discusses Brazil’s latest political scandal that has sparked investor panic and thrown markets into turmoil.
  May 23, 2017

• The French Elections: Macron vs. Le Pen

  Jacob Funk Kirkegaard and Nicolas Véron discuss the first round of France’s presidential election and its ramifications for the European Union.
  April 25, 2017

• Theresa May Calls Early Election in Britain

  Jacob Funk Kirkegaard weighs in on UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to hold a snap election to secure her position as leader of Britain’s Brexit negotiations.
  April 19, 2017