by Summary:
Let me conclude that while I agree with Dean that lowering the value of the dollar may will certainly tend to increase the quantity of exports and lower the quantity of imports as well as tend therefore to increase employment somewhat, this does not mean that I necessarily support a "talking down the dollar" policy. One obvious problem, mentioned by Summers, is that a too obvious and aggressive such nationalist policy is likely to call forth retaliation from other nations, just as an aggressively protectionist policy is likely to do. They will start talking down their currencies and perhaps engage in more direct policies to lower their values, which can easily end up in a "beggar thy neighbor" war as described by Joan Robinson in 1937. More often than not a wiser policy for a TeasSec is
Topics:
Mike Norman considers the following as important: currency war, protectionism, Steven Mnuchin, trade war, US trade policy
This could be interesting, too:
Let me conclude that while I agree with Dean that lowering the value of the dollar may will certainly tend to increase the quantity of exports and lower the quantity of imports as well as tend therefore to increase employment somewhat, this does not mean that I necessarily support a "talking down the dollar" policy. One obvious problem, mentioned by Summers, is that a too obvious and aggressive such nationalist policy is likely to call forth retaliation from other nations, just as an aggressively protectionist policy is likely to do. They will start talking down their currencies and perhaps engage in more direct policies to lower their values, which can easily end up in a "beggar thy neighbor" war as described by Joan Robinson in 1937. More often than not a wiser policy for a TeasSec is
Topics:
Mike Norman considers the following as important: currency war, protectionism, Steven Mnuchin, trade war, US trade policy
This could be interesting, too:
Stavros Mavroudeas writes S.Mavroudeas’ interview in News of PRESS TV (11-7-2020) on the trade war
Mike Norman writes The Cheapest Way For Trump To Save U.S. Oil — Lourcey Sams
Mike Norman writes There Was No Housing Bubble and Everyone Agrees We Have to Crack Down On China’s Practices on Intellectual Property — Dean Baker
Mike Norman writes Trade Policy — Uncertainty May Affect the Organization of Firms’ Supply Chains— Sebastian Heise, Justin R. Pierce, Georg Schaur, and Peter K. Schott
Let me conclude that while I agree with Dean that lowering the value of the dollar may will certainly tend to increase the quantity of exports and lower the quantity of imports as well as tend therefore to increase employment somewhat, this does not mean that I necessarily support a "talking down the dollar" policy. One obvious problem, mentioned by Summers, is that a too obvious and aggressive such nationalist policy is likely to call forth retaliation from other nations, just as an aggressively protectionist policy is likely to do. They will start talking down their currencies and perhaps engage in more direct policies to lower their values, which can easily end up in a "beggar thy neighbor" war as described by Joan Robinson in 1937. More often than not a wiser policy for a TeasSec is not to push either a strong or weak currency policy and just keep quiet, just as such a policy is often best for central bankers as well, even though the TreasSec is "in charge" of the dollar. Sometimes asserting that authority is nothing more than a pointless macho exercise.Econospeak
Is Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Right About The Impact Of The Dollar On US Trade?
J. Barkley Rosser | Professor of Economics and Business Administration James Madison University