Tag: International

Commentary

COMMENTARY: Who Pays for Peace? The Economics of United Nations Funding and American Contributions

Jonathan Kang

Kyle Feinstein, Stanford University -- The world’s eyes are on the United Nations as President Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).  President Trump’s act will halt American funding for the UNHRC and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a support organization for Palestinian refugees.  This withdrawal is a response to perceived anti-Israel bias and concern over the inclusion of member states with questionable human rights records.

Commentary

COMMENTARY: Power Shifts as Powers Shift: Energy Realignment After Russia’s Invasion

Eric Gao

Eliana Svilik, Stanford University -- Global energy markets have transformed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine shifted key resource flows, creating new winners and losers. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the former was the world’s second largest producer of natural gas and third largest producer of crude oil. EU member states relied on this supply for the majority of its oil and gas as part of a developed, seemingly mutual partnership. As the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears, changes in energy supply chains demonstrate that the U.S. and EU have largely won the concurrent energy war.

Commentary, Macroeconomics

COMMENTARY: The World Trade Organization Is Dying—And U.S. Consumers Will Pay the Price

Eric Gao

Amy Cao, Stanford University -- On January 20, President Trump returned to office. In the month since, the President has levied 25% tariffs against Canada and 10% tariffs against China. After President Trump’s first term already dismantled the World Trade Organization (WTO) and associated guardrails, the effects this time could be catastrophic beyond imagination.

Commentary, Development

COMMENTARY: Crisis and Collapse: How the 2021 Coup Derailed Myanmar’s Economic Future

Eric Gao

Alfonso Delgado, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley -- Myanmar’s economy is in ruins. CPI inflation is near a decade high, only an estimated 54.5 percent of the population is employed, and the Burmese Kyat is valued at a historic low. However, Myanmar's current economic distress sits in stark contrast to its previous trajectory. Here’s what went wrong.

Commentary, Environment

COMMENTARY: Harvesting Uncertainty: Navigating Punjab’s Climate Crisis

Eric Gao

Anshveer Bedi, James Burrell, and Alexander Flores, University of San Francisco -- Punjab is facing a pressing yield problem. Despite being a vital agricultural hub in India, making up 11% of the country’s agricultural output, Punjab has witnessed severe yield fluctuations for key staples like rice, maize, and wheat over the past three decades. These fluctuations are caused by Punjab's shifting climate, particularly the increase of hot weather days, rainy spells, and other climatic anomalies.

Uncategorized

Analyzing the Effects of Geopolitical Shocks on the Cryptocurrency Market

Karthick Arunachalam

Tucker Saland, Princeton University -- The Russo-Ukrainian war had an asymmetric effect on cryptocurrency prices, with some cryptocurrencies appreciating and functioning as hedges against geopolitical risk, even as the rest of the market experienced a downturn. In the aftermath of the war, exchange-level data indicates that individuals in Russia and Ukraine purchased increased amounts of Tether, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. This paper has two objectives: (1) examine whether there exists a geopolitical risk premium in the cross-section of cryptocurrency returns using a rolling regression of excess weekly returns on the geopolitical risk index by Caldara, Iacoviello (2018) and control factors, and (2) understand the role of stablecoins during times of geopolitical turmoil.

Commentary, Macroeconomics

LONG-FORM COMMENTARY: Can Benjamin Keep His Throne as the King of Currency?

Karthick Arunachalam

Gabriel Bo, Stanford University -- The US dollar (USD) has been the default global reserve currency since the end of World War II, meaning most countries see the dollar as a safe investment and typically keep it in their coffers to conduct trade. At its highest, more than 71% of the world’s central bank reserves utilized dollar assets—that number has dropped to 59% today, but it still remains unrivaled. 

Commentary, Macroeconomics

COMMENTARY: Peso Predicaments: Economic Turmoil in Argentina

Karthick Arunachalam

Arz Taneja, St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi -- Argentina is in trouble—economic trouble. Inflation has breached a new ceiling, crossing the 120 percent mark. The Argentine peso is at risk of yet another devaluation, leading to the currency being traded on the black (or should we say blue) market for the dollar at prices roughly double that of the current exchange rate. In an effort to stabilize the peso, the Argentine government imposed a slew of rules and regulations on how dollars can be accessed, which has led to the birth of a dozen different exchange rates, several of which are quite strange. For instance, under the “Coldplay Dollar” exchange rate (374 pesos per dollar), concert promoters who book performers charging in dollars are subject to a 30 percent tax, which fans ultimately have to cover on top of ticket costs.