The 13th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium

Friday, April 19th

8:15 am – 7:00 pm ET
Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213
Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E St NW

The Institute for International Economic Policy at the George Washington University was pleased to host the 13th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS). This year’s workshop took place in person at the Elliott School of International Affairs on Friday, April 19th. Please see below for the complete agenda, including participants from many DC-area institutions.

WAITS was launched by IIEP in 2011 and is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington, D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, George Mason University, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Conference Agenda

08:15-08:40 am: Breakfast
08:40-08:45 am: Opening Remarks

Session I: Domestic Subsidies
(Moderator: Yingyan Zhao, GWU)

8:45-9:25 am: Daniel Ramos (Johns Hopkins SAIS), “The Spatial Consequences of Financial Frictions: Evidence from Brazil”
Discussant: Jose Asturias (U.S. Census)

9:25-10:05 am: Lorenzo Rotunno (IMF), “Trade Spillovers of Domestic Subsidies”
Discussant: Yingyan Zhao (George Washington University)

10:05-10:20 am: Coffee Break

Session II: Firms and Industries
(Moderator: Maggie Chen, GWU)

10:20-11:00 am: Lorenz Ekerdt (U.S. Census), “The Rise of Specialized Firms”
Discussant: Mauricio Moreira (Inter-American Development Bank)

11:00-11:40 am: Ferdinando Monte (Georgetown), “Consumer Mobility and the Local Structure of Consumption Industries”
Discussant: Brian C. Fujiy (U.S. Census)

11:40 am-12:00 pm: Coffee Break 

Keynote Presentation

12:00-12:45 pm: Emily Blanchard (Dartmouth, Former Chief Economist of the Department of State)

12:45-1:30 pm: Lunch

Session III: Tariffs and Trade Wars
(Moderator: Ariel Weinberger, GWU)

1:30-2:10 pm: Trang Hoang (Federal Reserve Board), “Trade Wars and Rumors of Trade Wars: The Dynamic Effects of the U.S.-China Trade War”
Discussant: Ariel Weinberger(George Washington University)

2:10-2:50 pm: Anne Beck (World Bank), “Help for the Heartland? The Employment and Electoral Effects of the Trump Tariffs in the United States”
Discussant: Nuno Limao (Georgetown University)

2:50-3:05 pm: Coffee Break

Session IV: Trade and Migration
(Moderator: Judy Dean, Brandeis)

3:05-3:45 pm: Juan Blyde (Inter-American Development Bank), “Exports, Technical Measures, and Regulatory Heterogeneity”
Discussant: Maurice Kugler (George Mason)

3:45-4:25 pm: Michael Clemens (George Mason), “Partial Legalization and Parallel Markets: The Effect of Lawful Crossing on Unlawful Crossing at the US Southwest Border”
Discussant: Austin Davis (American University)

4:25-5:05 pm: Daniel Bernhofen (American University), “A Revealed Resource Savings Formulation of the Gains from Trade”
Discussant: Andrew McCallum (Federal Reserve Board)

5:05-7:00 pm: Reception

The Economic Prospects of Middle-Income Countries

Monday, December 4th, 2023
5:30 – 7:30 pm ET
City View Room, Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor

We are disappointed to inform you that, due to unforeseen circumstances, the upcoming event with Dr. Yunus has been postponed. The Wenger Lecture will continue as planned, and all those previously registered are invited to attend.

We are pleased to announce that Indermit Gill, Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Senior Vice President for Development Economics, will be joining us along with Christopher Fussner, BA ’79, as part of the Wenger Family Lecture series on International Business and Finance on December 4th, 2023. This lecture will discuss “The Economic Prospects of Middle-Income Countries.” Professor James Foster will serve as the moderator.

The event will begin with a discussion from 5:30 – 6:30 pm, followed by a reception from 6:30-7:30 pm. The event will be hybrid.

About the Speaker:

Indermit Gill is Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Senior Vice President for Development Economics.
Before starting this position on September 1, 2022, Gill served as the World Bank’s Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions, where he helped shape the Bank’s response to the extraordinary series of shocks that have hit developing economies since 2020. Between 2016 and 2021, he was a professor of public policy at Duke University and non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development program.

Gill led the World Bank’s influential 2009 World Development Report on economic geography. His work includes introducing the concept of the “middle-income trap” to describe how countries stagnate after reaching a certain level of income. He has published extensively on key policy issues facing developing countries—among other things, sovereign debt vulnerabilities, green growth and natural-resource wealth, labor markets, and poverty and inequality.

Gill has also taught at Georgetown University and the University of Chicago. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.

 

Photo of Christopher FussnerChristopher Fussner founded and owns TransTechnology Pte. Ltd. in Singapore in 1988, a major distributor of surface mount technology and semiconductor capital equipment. Headquartered in Singapore, Trans-Tec has 235 employees worldwide with offices in China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, United States, and Vietnam. He has had extensive experience in negotiating and establishing joint ventures, strategic alliances, licenses, distribution networks and sales worldwide. In addition, Mr. Fussner is also founder and owner of Certain Cellars Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, an importer and distributor of fine wines. Prior to forming these companies, Mr. Fussner headed Asia sales for Amistar Corporation based in Seoul, Korea and Singapore. As such, he was responsible for sales and service for electronics manufacturing industry machines in Australia, Asia, and India.

Mr. Fussner began his international career during the late 1978 in Ouagadougou (Upper Volta) Burkino Faso, where he was involved in aid work for Catholic Relief Services. He subsequently joined Church World Services during 1979 – 1980, devoting his time as a refugee resettlement officer in Malaysia, being responsible for the resettlement process of Vietnamese refugees. Mr. Fussner also taught English at the Hyundai Corporation in Seoul, Korea. As a young man, Mr. Fussner also worked in New York as a steamfitter, waiter, busboy, paperboy, and gardener.

Mr. Fussner received his B.A. in History and East Asian Studies from George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs (1979), and his M.I.M. (Master of International Management) at the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, Arizona (1982). He is proficient in Chinese and French with some knowledge of Korean and Spanish.

About the Moderator:

Picture of James FosterProfessor James Foster is the Vice Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs, Oliver T. Carr, Jr. Professor of International Affairs, and Professor of Economics at the George Washington University. He is also a Research Associate at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative at Oxford University. Professor Foster’s research focuses on welfare economics — using economic tools to evaluate and enhance the wellbeing of people. His work underlies many well-known social indices including the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) published annually by the UNDP in the Human Development Report, dozens of national MPIs used to guide domestic policy against poverty, the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) at USAID, the Gross National Happiness Index of Bhutan, the Better Jobs Index of the InterAmerican Development Bank, and the Statistical Performance Index of the World Bank. Prof. Foster received his PhD in Economics from Cornell University and has a Doctorate Honoris Causa from Universidad Autonoma del Estado Hidalgo (Mexico).

U.S. India Cooperation in a Changing Global Economy and India’s Pathways to Success

Thursday, April 20th, 2023
5:00-7:00 p.m EDT
In-Person

We are pleased to invite you to a panel on, “U.S. India Cooperation in a Changing Global Economy and India’s Pathways to Success” with speakers Dr. Uma Ganesh (Global Talent Track), Dr. Ejaz Ghani (Pune International), Dr. Remi Jedwab (IIEP), and Dr. Ganesh Natarajan (5F World) and moderator Pallabi Saboo. This event is co-sponsored by TiE DC and the Harvard Club of Washington DC.

 

About the Speakers:

Dr. Uma Ganesh is an expert in entrepreneurial strategy, skills development, and digital employee management platforms. She is the Founder of Global Talent Track, a leading vocational skills company that uses a blended learning model to bridge academia and the industry. She is the Co-Founder of 5F World, a platform for global consulting, investing, and mentoring in digital skills and digital transformation for start-ups and social enterprises, and has authored multiple books on knowledge, management, and digital success.

 

 

 

Dr. Ejaz Ghani is a Senior Fellow at Pune International. He is a former Lead Economist at the World Bank and former consultant at the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and UNICEF. He previously was a Professor of Economics at Oxford University and Delhi University. He is an expert on topics including economic growth, macroeconomic policy, poverty, employment, entrepreneurship, urbanization, gender trade, decentralization, and agriculture.

 

 

 

Dr. Remi Jedwab is an associate professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Elliott School and the Department of Economics of George Washington University, the Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy and the Director of the ESIA Initiative on Climate Change and Sustainable Cities at George Washington University, and an Affiliated Scholar of the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University. Professor Jedwab’s main fields of research are urban and real estate economics, development and growth, environmental economics, and labor economics. Some of the issues he has studied include urbanization and structural transformation, urban construction and climate change, the economic determinants and effects of transportation infrastructure, and the roles of institutions, human capital and technology in development and growth. He is the co-founder and co-organizer of the World Bank-GWU Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Conference and the Washington Area Development Economics Symposium.

 

 

 Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is the Co-Founder of 5F World, a platform for global consulting, investing, and mentoring in digital skills and digital transformation for start-ups and social enterprises. He is the Chairman of Honeywell Automation India and Lighthouse Communities Foundation, as well as a Central Board Member of the State Bank of India, Global Talent Track, and AVPN Singapore.

 

 

 

 

About the Moderator:

Pallabi Saboo is the Executive Chair and Founder of Harmonia Holdings Group, LLC. She serves on the Fairfax Economic Development Authority Board, Asian American Chamber of Commerce Board, George Mason University President’s Innovation Advisory Council, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) DC Board, Northern Virginia’s Chamber of Commerce Strategic Leadership Board of Advisors, and as an Officer of the Harvard Club of Washington DC. She was named one of the Top 25 Female CEOs in the DMV in 2008 and received the US President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2021

 

12th Annual WAITS

Friday, April 21st, 2023,
9:00 am – 7:00pm ET
134 Van Metre Hall Auditorium
George Mason University

Conference Program

 

08:30-08:55: Breakfast

08:55-09:00: Opening Remarks

 

Session I: Frictions and Trade

9:00-9:45: Brian Cevallos Fujiy (U.S. Census Bureau), “Cultural Proximity and Production
Networks”
Discussant: Yingyan Zhao (GWU)

9:45-10:30: Christian Volpe (Inter-American Development Bank), “The Value of International
Certifications”
Discussant: Andrew McCallum (Federal Reserve Board)

 

10:30-11:00: Coffee Break

 

Session II: Immigration

11:00-11:45: Mine Senses (JHU SAIS), “The Fiscal Impact of Immigration in the United States:
Evidence at the Local Level”
Discussant: Charly Porcher (Georgetown)

11:45-12:30: Michael Clemens (GMU), “The Effect of Low-Skill Immigration Restrictions on US
Firms and Workers: Evidence from a Randomized Lottery”
Discussant: Juan Blyde (Inter-American Development Bank)

 

12:30-13:15: Lunch

 

Session III: Trade and Inequality

13:15-14:00: Miguel Acosta (Federal Reserve Board), “The Regressive Nature of the U.S. Tariff
Code: Origins and Implications”
Discussant: Daniel Bernhofen (American)
14:00-14:45: Kara Reynolds (American), “Backlash against Trade in an Unequal World”
Discussant: Cristina Tello-Trillo (U.S. Census Bureau)

 

14:45-15:15: Coffee Break

 

Session IV: The Pandemic Trade Shock

15:15-16:00: Ariel Weinberger (GWU), “Surviving Pandemics: The Role of Spillovers”
Discussant: Anne Beck (World Bank)
16:00-16:45: Dhevaki Ghose (World Bank), “Production Networks and Firm-Level Elasticities
of Substitution”
Discussant: Ritam Chauri (JHU SAIS)
16:45-17:30: Ferdinando Monte (Georgetown), “Remote Work and City Structure”
Discussant: Maurice Kugler (GMU)

17:30-18:30: Reception

The New Face of Globalization

Tuesday, April 11th, 2023
5-6:30 p.m EDT
In-Person

The Institute for International Economic Policy was pleased to invite you to a discussion of “The New Face of Globalization” featuring speakers Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics, Geneva Graduate Institute and Fellow, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Anabel González, Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization, Aaditya Mattoo, Chief Economist, East Asia and Pacific, The World Bank, and Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Growth Dialogue Director and IIEP faculty affiliate Danny Leipziger will moderate.

There is a sense that fragmented globalization is the new normal and this involves additional elements of explicit or implicit protectionism and national trade and industrial policies in some key countries. To better understand these new developments and to gauge their importance and the possible impact on global trade and finance, join us to hear from a high-level panel of experts who will be convened to discuss these issues

About the Speakers:

Anabel González (Costa Rica) has served as WTO Deputy Director-General since June 2021. Ms. González is a renowned global expert on trade, investment and economic development with a proven managerial track record in international organizations and the public sector. In government, Ms Gonzalez served as Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica; Special Ambassador and Chief Negotiator; Vice-Minister of Trade and Director-General for Trade Negotiations. She also worked as Director-General of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE). Ms González also served at the World Bank as Senior Director of the Global Practice on Trade and Competitiveness, the WTO as Director of the Agriculture and Commodities Division and as Senior Consultant with the Inter-American Development Bank. More recently, Ms González has worked as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, where she hosted the virtual series Trade Winds, and as Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group. Ms González obtained her master’s degree from Georgetown University Law Center with the highest academic distinction and has published extensively and lectured across the world on trade, investment and economic development.

 

 

Aaditya Mattoo is Chief Economist of the East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank.  He specializes in development, trade and international cooperation, and provides policy advice to governments.  He is also Co-Director of the World Development Report 2020 on Global Value Chains.  Prior to this he was the Research Manager, Trade and Integration, at the World Bank. Before he joined the Bank, Mr. Mattoo was Economic Counsellor at the World Trade Organization and taught economics at the University of Sussex and Churchill College, Cambridge University. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and an M.Phil in Economics from the University of Oxford. He has published on development, trade, trade in services, and international trade agreements in academic and other journals and his work has been cited in the Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, and Time Magazine.

 

 

Richard Baldwin is Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute, Geneva since 1991, and Editor-in-Chief of Vox since he founded it in June 2007. He was President/Director of CEPR (2014-2018), and a visiting professor at Oxford (2012-2015), and MIT (2003). In terms of government service, he was a Senior Staff Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisors in the Bush Administration (1990-1991) on leave from Columbia University Business School where he was Associate Professor. He did his PhD in Economics at MIT with Paul Krugman with whom he has co-authored several articles. He advises governments and international organisation around the world, and is the author of numerous books and articles on international trade, globalisation, regionalism, and European integration. His 2016 book, The Great Convergence: Information Technology and the New Globalisation, was listed by Lawrence Summers as one of the five most important books on globalisation ever. His latest book, The Globotics Upheaval: Globalization, Robotics, and the Future of Work, was published in February 2019.

He wrote his PhD at MIT under the guidance of Paul Krugman, with whom he has co-author a half dozen articles. His MSc in economics is from LSE, his BA in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and he has honorary doctorates from the Turku School of Economics and Business in Finland (2005), the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland (2012), and the Pontifica Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), in Peru (2014).

He is a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Stewardship Board on Trade and Investment Issues from 2016, having been a member of the WEF Global Agenda Council on Trade from 2009 to 2015. He was Vice Chair of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) in Washington (2008 – 2012), and an Elected Member on the Council of the European Economic Association, (1999-2004, 2006-2011).

 

About the Moderator:

Picture of Danny LeipzigerDr. Danny Leipziger is a Professor of International Business and International Affairs at the George Washington University and Director of the Growth Dialogue. He is a faculty affiliate of the Institute for International Economic Policy. Prior to joining GW, Prof. Leipziger was Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management at the World Bank (2004-2009). Dr. Leipziger held senior management positions in East Asia and Latin America Regions. He was the World Bank’s Director for Finance, Private Sector, and Infrastructure for Latin America (1998-2004). He served previously in the U.S. Department of State and was a Member of the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff. Dr. Leipziger was Vice Chair of the Spence Commission on Growth and Development, and he served on the WEF Council on Economic Progress.

An economist with a Ph. D. from Brown University, he has published widely in development economics, finance and banking, and on East Asia and Latin America. He is the author of several books, including Lessons of East Asia (U. of Michigan Press), Stuck in the Middle (Brookings Institution), and Globalization and Growth, and more than 50 refereed and published articles in journals and other outlets.

 

Cosponsored by GW-CIBER and the Growth Dialogue

Wenger Family Lecture on International Business and Finance: The Global Economy Post-Brexit: UK and US Perspectives

Thursday, March 23rd, 2023
Reception 5:00 – 5:30 ET
Lecture 5:30-6:30 pm ET
City View Room, Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor

We were pleased to invite you to join us on March 23rd, 2023 from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm EST for a conversation with Carl Richardson, MA ’99, and Sarah Hirsch, BA ’10, as part of the Wenger Family Lecture series on International Business and Finance. This lecture discussed “The Global Economy Post-Brexit: UK and US Perspectives.” IIEP Director Remi Jedwab will serve as the moderator. The event began with a reception from 5:00 – 5:30 pm, followed by the discussion from 5:30 – 6:30 pm.

This event was presented by the Elliott School Office of Development and Alumni Relations and underwritten by the Henry E. & Consuelo S. Wenger Foundation. It is co-sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy.

About the Speakers

Picture of Carl RichardsonCarl A. Richardson, ESIA MA ’99, leads the Richardson family business, alongside his brothers. Richardson is a multi-generational independent family-run trading and investment business which has a real estate and growth capital portfolio that is embedded across the world. Current growth capital investments include an award- winning Swiss technology company, a UK financial services business, the fastest growing automated carwash business in the US, and the largest avocado grower in New Zealand. Real estate holdings are significant in scale and content, encompassing office, residential, distribution centres, leisure and infrastructure properties both nationally and internationally.

Carl is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Trustee of the Richardson Brothers’ Foundation. He previously served as an International Officer at HSBC in London, UAE, and Hong Kong, and has also served as an Honorary Captain in the Royal Navy Reserve. He is a member of the Executive Circle of the Elliott School’s Institute for International Economic Policy and previously was a member of the school’s International Council advisory group.

Picture of Sarah HirschSarah Hirsch, ESIA BA ’10, is an economic and financial policy expert and former diplomat. She is currently Vice President of Global Corporate and Investment Banking at Bank of America. Since 2010, Sarah has advised senior public and private sector officials, including heads of state. Her areas of expertise include international economic policy, economic development, capital markets, and monetary policy.

From 2012-19, Sarah served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, most recently as senior advisor to the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance. As Acting U.S. Executive Director at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, she facilitated the approval of $12 billion in development finance to countries throughout Africa and established partnerships between the Bank and U.S. government, including the Obama Administration’s Power Africa Initiative, Global Connect Initiative, and the Partnership on Illicit Finance. For her service, Sarah was awarded the Treasury Secretary’s Exceptional Service Award. She is a member of the Executive Circle of the Elliott School’s Institute for International Economic Policy.

About the Moderator

Picture of Remi JedwabRemi Jedwab is an associate professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Elliott School and the Department of Economics of George Washington University, the Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy and the Director of the ESIA Initiative on Climate Change and Sustainable Cities at George Washington University, and an Affiliated Scholar of the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University. Professor Jedwab’s main fields of research are urban and real estate economics, development and growth, environmental economics, and labor economics. Some of the issues he has studied include urbanization and structural transformation, urban construction and climate change, the economic determinants and effects of transportation infrastructure, and the roles of institutions, human capital, and technology in development and growth. He is the co-founder and co-organizer of the World Bank-GWU Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Conference and the Washington Area Development Economics Symposium.

Macro-International Seminar with Jennie Bai (Georgetown University)

Wed, October 19, 2022

2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

 

“Security Lending and Corporate Financing: Evidence from Bond Issuance”

Jennie Bai (Georgetown University) who will be presenting the paper “Securities Lending and Corporate Financing: Evidence from Bond Issuance.”Seminar will be in-person.  Please sign up for our Seminars Listserv to receive the details.

Wenger Family Lecture on International Business and Finance: The Future of Global Markets (Washington, DC)

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Lindner Commons, 6th Floor

Click here to read what GW Today wrote about this event.

The GW community is invited to join us for a reception and panel discussion led by Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres on “The Future of Global Markets,” as part of the Wenger Family Lecture series on International Business and Finance.

This event is presented by the Elliott School Office of Development and Alumni Relations and underwritten by the Henry E. & Consuelo S. Wenger Foundation. It is cosponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy and the International Women of Elliott.

Event Timeline

5:00pm Registration opens
5:30pm Panel discussion
6:30pm Reception
7:30pm Event ends

 

Panelists

ESIA Alumnus Patrick HylandPatrick Hyland, MA ’03, is a managing director in the Global Client Business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management and also serves as co-chair of the Separate Account and Advisory Working Group. He joined Goldman Sachs in 2010 as a vice president in the Platform Solutions Group within the Investment Management Division and was named managing director in 2021. Prior to joining the firm, Patrick was vice president and manager in Client Service at OppenheimerFunds. He is also an Executive Circle member of the Elliott School’s Institute for International Economic Policy.

 

 

ESIA Alumna Persis KhambattaPersis Khambatta, MA ’07, is director of global government affairs for India and South Asia at Walmart. Previously, she spent eight years with BowerGroupAsia, managing key client relationships across South Asia, providing political-economic analyses, mapping, regulatory monitoring and country strategies. Khambatta also served as a fellow and adjunct fellow for the Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as well as a program officer and consultant at The Asia Foundation.

 

ESIA Alumna Tiffany Townsend

 

Tiffany Townsend, BA ’01, was recently named executive vice president for global communications at NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organization for New York City. She previously served as a senior advisor with the U.S. Small Business Administration in the Office of Government Contracting & Business Development. Townsend formerly held positions at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the New York City Council, the New York Wheel, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She is an Executive Circle member of the International Women of Elliott.

 

ESIA Dean Alyssa AyresModerator: Alyssa Ayres joined GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs as dean on February 1, 2021. She is a foreign policy practitioner and award-winning author with senior experience in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. From 2013 to 2021, she was senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she remains an adjunct senior fellow. From 2010 to 2013, Ayres served as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia. Her work focuses primarily on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia in the larger Indo-Pacific.

 

 

 

 

A note about COVID-19: The health and well-being of GW students, alumni, friends, faculty, and staff remains a top priority for GW and all alumni events will proceed in compliance with all state, local, and public health guidelines.

It is recommended that all event attendees be fully vaccinated. Proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or a recent negative COVID-19 test is no longer required to attend GW events. Masks may be required indoors.

Trade Secret? How AI is Changing Trade and How Trade Agreements Address AI

Friday, September 30th, 2022

Artificial intelligence is both expanding trade and altering trade. Moreover, a growing number of digital trade agreements include language to encourage AI. For example, some include provisions encouraging the free flow of data and/ or language requiring that public data when open be provided in a machine readable format. But policymakers are just beginning to figure out how encourage AI (as example to incentivize multi- sectoral data sharing). Meanwhile, more than 60 countries have AI strategies and 11 have data strategies. Policymakers could alter comparative advantage in data through various approaches to regulating data or the data giants. This webinar will feature two scholars who have recently written on the relationship between AI and trade.

Speakers:

Emily Jones, Associate Professor, Blavatnik School of Government Oxford University, author of Digital Disruption: AI and International Trade Policy.

Neha Mishra, Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute, Geneva, author of Regulating artificial intelligence through digital trade agreements

Moderator:

Research Professor Susan Aaronson, Director of the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub, GWU

Missing migrants: Border Closures as a Labor Supply Shock, joint with Dave Maré and Lynda Sanderson

Tuesday, April 12th, 2022
12:30 – 2:00 p.m. EST
via Zoom

We study the economic impact of the March 2020 closure of the New Zealand border. The border closed in the middle of the fall RSE arrival season, causing seasonal migrants to not enter the country as planned. We identify firms that were expecting workers but the workers did not arrive before the border closure and compare these firms to other firms where the workers arrived just before the border closure. We study the firm-level response to these `missing migrants’. Did affected firms hire other workers? Did wages need to increase to do so? Was productivity lower as a result? We find that firms without migrants employed other workers — a combination of working holiday makers and New Zealand citizens/residents — and did not face lower employment levels. We find no evidence that firms without migrants increased wages for other workers. We find suggestive evidence that firms without migrants faced a productivity loss of up to 8\%, but this result is statistically insignificant.

About the Speaker:

picture_of_Melanie_MortenMelanie Morten is a development economist who focuses on the migration of low-income people. Human mobility has long helped to determine people’s living conditions. Individuals move, both across and within countries, searching for better employment prospects, higher wages, and other opportunities. Beyond impacting individuals’ own outcomes, migration sometimes occurs at such a large scale that it affects the overall organization of economic activity within countries. Her work explores the causes and effects of different types of movement, including internal and international migration, temporary and permanent relocations, and within-city residential movements. She considers both the microeconomic and macroeconomic implications of migration and formulate spatial equilibrium models to understand how impacts in one location may spill over to other areas. Her research has been supported by several grants, including an NSF CAREER award and a Sloan Fellowship.

Looking for Balanced Growth in China: Insights from the latest IMF Staff report

Friday, March 4th, 2022
9:30 – 11:00 a.m. ET
via Zoom

The Institute for International Economic Policy was pleased to invite you to the fourth event in the 14th annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations. This year, the conference will take place as a virtual series. This conference is co-sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the GW Center for International Business Education and Research (GW-CIBER).

China’s recovery is well advanced—but it lacks balance and momentum has slowed, reflecting the rapid withdrawal of fiscal support, lagging consumption amid recurrent COVID-19 outbreaks despite a successful vaccination campaign, and slowing real estate investment following policy efforts to reduce leverage in the property sector. Regulatory measures targeting the technology sector, intended to enhance competition, consumer privacy, and data governance, have increased policy uncertainty. China’s climate strategy has begun to take shape with the release of detailed action plans. Productivity growth is declining as decoupling pressures are increasing, while a stalling of key structural reforms and rebalancing are delaying the transition to “high-quality”—balanced, inclusive and green—growth.

China rebounded strongly from the pandemic, but growth is losing momentum while remaining overly dependent on support from investment and exports. This imperils the nation’s long-sought transition to sustained high-quality growth that’s balanced, inclusive and green.

While China’s many challenges have no easy answer, the key message of the IMF’s annual Article IV review of the economy is that rebalancing toward a more consumption-based model will boost growth prospects in the short term and deliver high-quality expansion in the long run. Importantly, it will also help bring the country closer to achieving its climate goal of carbon neutrality before 2060.

About the Speakers:

Picture of Helge BergerHelge Berger is an Assistant Director in the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department. He is also an adjunct professor of monetary economics at Free University of Berlin. He was educated in Munich, Germany, where he received his Ph.D. and the venia legendi for economics. Previously, he taught at Princeton University as a John Foster Dulles Visiting Lecturer, helped to coordinate the Munich-based CESifo network as its research director, and served as full professor (tenured) at Free University Berlin. At the IMF, he has worked in the Research and European Departments.

 

Picture of Wenjie ChenWenjie Chen is a senior economist on the IMF’s China team. Prior to that, she worked in the Research Department, where she was part of the World Economic Outlook team. She has also worked in the African Department on South Africa and South Sudan. Before joining the IMF, Wenjie worked as a professor at George Washington University School of Business and Elliott School of International Affairs. She received her MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Michigan.

 

About the Discussant:

Picture of Chao WeiChao Wei is an associate professor of economics at the George Washington University who previously taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was the 2010-2011 Economic Policy Fellow at the Congressional Budget Office. Her primary research areas are: Macroeconomics, Labor Economics, Financial Economics, China Economy, and Energy and Environmental Economics. She has published papers, including at the top journal of the economics field, on the impact of energy price shocks on the stock market, the effect of personal and corporate income taxes on asset returns, and the endogenous determination of gasoline use and vehicle fuel efficiency. Her recent research focuses on the relationship between family structure and parental human capital investment, marital and labor supply behaviors of older adults, and the trade-off between stimulus and environmental objectives in the green stimulus programs. She holds degrees from Fudan University (BA), Columbia University (M.A.) and Stanford University (Ph.D.).

About the Moderator:

Picture of Jay ShambaughJay Shambaugh is Professor of Economics and International Affairs, and Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. His area of research is macroeconomics and international economics. He has had two stints in public service. He served as a Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors from 2015-2017. Earlier, he served on the staff of the CEA as a Senior Economist for International Economics and then as the Chief Economist. He also spent 3 years as the Director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. Jay is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the NBER and Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings. Prior to joining the faculty at George Washington, Jay taught at Georgetown and Dartmouth and was a visiting scholar at the IMF. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. from the Fletcher School at Tufts, and a B.A. from Yale University.

Trade Shocks and Supply Chains: What is Happening to the WTO and Globalization?

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST/6:30 – 7:30 p.m. CET
via Zoom

We were pleased to invite you to join the Insitute for International Economic Policy for a webinar featuring the Chief Economist of the WTO Bob Koopman discussing “Trade Shocks and Supply Chains: What is Happening to the WTO and Globalization?” Prof. Michael Moore moderated and IIEP Director Jay Shambaugh provided welcoming remarks. This event was in partnership with the GW Department of Economics Trade and Development Workshop organized by Yingyan Zhao and Remi Jedwab.

Since 2016 international trade has been subjected to increased geo-political uncertainty and more recently a major global health shock.  How has the WTO and globalization responded?  The initial Trump administration policy shocks resulted in mainly higher prices and trade diversion.  The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a number of restrictive trade policies mainly due to health policy restrictions, but also substantial fiscal and monetary policy responses in the advanced economies.  The combination of economic and health policies brought about a dramatic compositional shift in demand from in-person services to tradeable goods stressing global and national supply chains.  How has the global trading system responded?  What role, if any, will globalization play in the future on the Phillips curve and inflation?  These are important questions for the global trading system given the prospect of continued global health challenges and rising climate challenges.

 

About the Speaker:

Picture of Bob KoopmanBob Koopman is currently the Chief Economist of the World Trade Organization and an Adjunct Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute, Geneva.  At the WTO Bob serves as Chief Economic Counsellor to the Director-General, and provides the WTO Secretariat and Member Countries with analysis and information that promotes a deeper understanding of trade and trade policy’s role in economic growth and development. At the Graduate Institute Bob teaches courses on international trade.  Bob also serves as the WTO representative to the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group and the G20 Framework Group.  He is a research associate of CEPR, London, and an editor of the Springer Series on Advances in Applied General Equilibrium Modeling.

Prior to joining the WTO and the Graduate Institute Bob was Chief Operating Officer at the United States International Trade Commission and an Adjunct Professor of Economics at Georgetown University.  Bob has also previously served as Chief Economist at the USITC, Deputy Administrator for social sciences at what is now the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, USDA, and various leadership and analyst positions at the Economic Research Service of USDA.

About the Moderator:

Picture of Michael MooreMichael Moore received his B.A. in liberal arts from the University of Texas at Austin and his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is Director of the Masters of Arts in International Economic Policy program and has been a faculty member at the Elliott School since receiving his doctorate in 1988. Professor Moore teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in international trade theory and policy as well as international macroeconomics. He also has taught international economics to US diplomats at the Foreign Service Institute and students at the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (Sciences-Po) in Paris. He has published in numerous academic journals including the Journal of International Economics, International Trade Journal, Canadian Journal of Economics, Review of International Economics, European Journal of Political Economy, and Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, and has been a contributor to five books. His commentary has appeared in numerous media outlets, including The Washington PostThe Financial Times, CNN, CBC, NPR, and NBC.

Professor Moore has served as Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy, Director of the International Trade and Investment Policy Program, and Associate Dean at the Elliott School.

Professor Moore served as Senior Economist for international trade on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors from 2002 to 2003.

Welcoming Remarks:

Picture of Jay ShambaughJay Shambaugh is a Professor of Economics and International Affairs, and Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. His area of research is macroeconomics and international economics. He has had two stints in public service. He served as a Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors from 2015-2017. Earlier, he served on the staff of the CEA as a Senior Economist for International Economics and then as the Chief Economist. He also spent 3 years as the Director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. Jay is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the NBER and Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings. Prior to joining the faculty at George Washington, Jay taught at Georgetown and Dartmouth and was a visiting scholar at the IMF. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. from the Fletcher School at Tufts, and a B.A. from Yale University.

 

 

Taking on China – the Imperative and agenda for India

Wednesday, November 17th, 2021
8:30 – 10:00 am EDT / 7:00 – 8:30 pm IST

This was the third webinar in the 2021-2022 Envisioning India series, co-sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the Institute for International Economic Policy, a platform for dialogue and debate. We invited you to engage with us in this series of important discussions.

The Envisioning India series is organized under the stewardship of IIEP Director Jay Shambaugh, Professor of International Affairs and Professor of Economics, and IIEP Distinguished Visiting Scholar Ajay Chhibber. The third event of the 2021-2022 series featured Ambassador (Retd) Gautam Bambawale (Distinguished Professor, Symbiosis University, Pune, India) and Dr. Ganesh Natarajan (5F World and Lighthouse Communities) to discuss “Taking on China – The Imperative and Agenda for India.” Manjeet Kripalani (Gateway House) and Dr. Jaimini Bhagwati (CSEP) provided discussant remarks.

India and China were more or less comparable in terms of economy size and global influence in the past but the rapid growth of China in the last five decades has taken China to near super power status and an economy which is over four times the size of India (14 trillion vs 3 trillion USD). This has seen increasing belligerence from China in the last year or so and we believe that India must act and act on multiple fronts if we are to retain our position on the High Table of global affairs.

Six senior members of the Pune International Center in India came together over a one year period in 2021-21 to produce a book Rising to the China Challenge: Winning Through Strategic Patience and Economic Growth that has been recently published and widely read in political, diplomatic and economic circles. Our submission is that there is a need for significant policy responses and diplomatic moves on the one hand and a renewed focus on restoring economic symmetry with China on the other to restore some level of equilibrium between the two nations. Two of the authors, Ambassador (Retd) Gautam Bambawale and Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, will present the book.

In the talk, three areas of great importance will be addressed.
1. Redressing the economic imbalance by focusing on industry sectors where India has the opportunity to redress the huge disparity that currently exists in domestic independence and global position, sectors where we have the imperative and the ability to catch up and build much higher values in the years to come and finally areas where India can indeed take the lead and build jobs for the future.
2. Diplomatic responses needed from India by having new models of engagement with global nations of importance, China’s neighbors and India’s own neighbors to counter China’s growing dominance in world affairs.
3. India’s own domestic and international imperatives and policies and programs that are essential to set India on a path of sustained and significant growth as a democratic force of significance to the world.

About the Speakers:

Picture of Gautam BambawaleAmbassador (Retd) Gautam Bambawale was a member of the Indian Foreign Service from 1984 to 2018. He was India’s Ambassador to Bhutan, Pakistan and China. Bambawale was stationed in Washington DC in 2004-07 during the Indo-US nuclear deal which transformed ties between the two countries. He has been India’s first Consul General in Guangzhou (China) 2007-09. He was Director of the Indian Cultural Centre, Berlin 1994-98. Ambassador Bambawale worked in the Prime Minister’s Office 2002-04. At the Ministry of External Affairs he was Joint Secretary for East Asia from 2009-2014. Bambawale has dealt with China for 15 years of his 34 year diplomatic career. He is currently Distinguished Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Symbiosis International University, Pune.

Picture of Ganesh NatarajanDr. Ganesh Natarajan is Chairman and Co-Founder of 5F World and Lighthouse Communities. He is an investor and mentor to digital platforms and AI entrepreneurs in India and USA. Ganesh is a Board Director of SBI, Hinduja Global Solutions and Asian Venture Philanthropy Network and is Chairman of Honeywell Automation India. Ganesh is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and Harvard Business School and a recipient of IIT’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.

 

 

About the Discussants:

Picture of Manjeet KripalaniManjeet Kripalani is Executive Director of Gateway House. Prior to the founding of Gateway House, she was India Bureau chief of Businessweek magazine from 1996 to 2009. During her extensive career in journalism (Businessweek, Worth and Forbes magazines, New York), she has won several awards, including the Gerald Loeb Award, the George Polk Award, Overseas Press Club and Daniel Pearl Awards. Kripalani was the 2006-07 Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, which inspired her to found Gateway House. Her political career spans being the deputy press secretary to Steve Forbes during his first run in 1995-96 as Republican candidate for U.S. President in New Jersey, to being press secretary for the Lok Sabha campaign for independent candidate Meera Sanyal in 2008 and 2014 in Mumbai. Kripalani holds two bachelor’s degrees from Bombay University (Bachelor of Law, Bachelor of Arts in English and History) and a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, New York. She sits on the executive board of Gateway House and is a member of the Rotary Club of Bombay.

Picture of Jaimini BhagwatiDr. Jaimini Bhagwati is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), Chairman of the Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) Asset Management Trustee Company and Board member of IDFC Limited. Dr. Bhagwati was India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and India’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg. He has held senior positions in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Department of Atomic Anergy and the World bank Treasury. His responsibilities at the World Bank included bond funding including execution of over-the-counter derivatives transactions. Between 2013-2018 Dr. Bhagwati was the Reserve Bank of India Chair Professor at ICRIER. Dr. Bhagwati was educated at St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, Tufts University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.

What Can We Hope For at MC12?

Thursday, November 18th, 2021
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. EST
via Zoom

The 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, being held November 30 – December 3rd, comes at a critical time for organization and the world trading system. WITA and GWU discussed what might be achieved at the Ministerial, and what that may signal for the future of the organization – and the multilateral trading system as a whole.

This event was free to attend.

Featured Remarks:

Alan Wm. Wolff, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE); former Deputy Director General of the WTO

Discussion Featuring:

Jake Colvin, President, National Foreign Trade Council

Isabel Jarrett, Manager, Reducing Harmful Fisheries Subsidies, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Andrew Jory, Minister-Counsellor (Trade), Embassy of Australia

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, Principal, AgTrade Strategies, LLC, on behalf of Aggies for WTO Reform; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Catherine Mellor, Vice President, UPS

Moderator: Michael Moore, Director, MA in International Economic Policy (MIEP), Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University

Reshaping Global Trade: The Immediate and Long-Run Effects of Bank Failures

Wednesday, February 24, 2021
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
via Zoom

We were pleased to invite you to the second virtual event of the Macro-International Seminar of Spring 2021. The Macro-International seminar hosts speakers from all over the world that present recent and cutting edge research on different topics in macroeconomics, open economy macroeconomics and international finance. The seminar series is co-organized by Prof. Tomás Williams and Prof. Graciela Kaminsky. On Wednesday, February 10, 2021, Chenzi Xu of Stanford Graduate School of Business presented “Reshaping Global Trade: The Immediate and Long-Run Effects of Bank Failures.”

Chenzi Xu studies the first modern global banking crisis that began in London in 1866 and provides causal evidence that financial sector disruptions can reshape international trade patterns for decades. Using newly collected archival loan records that link banks to their operations abroad, Xu estimates that countries exposed to banks whose headquarters in London failed exported 17% less on average to each destination until 1905. Exporters trading with destinations for the first time, facing more competition in goods markets, and with little access to alternative forms of credit experienced more persistent losses, consistent with hysteresis arising from high sunk costs of entry into exporting.

About the Speaker:

Chenzi Xu is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Her research is focused on the intersection of finance, international trade, and economic history. Xu has received an AB and PhD in Economics at Harvard University as well as a MPhil in Economic and Social History from the University of Cambridge. Through her study, she has received awards and honors such as the 2019 “AQR Top Finance Graduate Award” and the 2018 “Economic History Society New Researcher Prize.”

 

 

This event was co-sponsored with GW Department of Economics. 

International Trade in the Asia-Pacific Region Amidst U.S.-China Tensions

Tuesday, November 10, 2020
7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. EST
via Zoom

The Institute for International Economic Policy was pleased to invite you to the 13th annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations. The conference took place as a virtual series and was co-sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the GW Center for International Business Education and Research. This event in the series was co-sponsored and hosted by Elliott School of International Affairs Alumni Programs.

Since 2017, trade disputes between the U.S. and China have spiraled into a full blown economic and trade war. U.S. tariff rates on Chinese imports rose from an average 3.1 percent “Most Favored Nation” rate in 2017 to above 20 percent in 2020, covering essentially all imports including both intermediate and consumer goods. China responded by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products ranging from soybeans to electrical equipment and autos. This trade war has rippled throughout the region to affect the countries of the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

This online panel discussion featured two prominent GW alumni working in the Asia-Pacific region: Chris Fussner, CCAS BA ’79, founder and president of TransTechnology Worldwide, based in Singapore, and Frank Wong, ESIA BA ’79, president of Scholastic Asia, based in Hong Kong. Prof. Maggie Chen, professor of economics and international affairs at the George Washington University, moderated the discussion.

Meet the Discussants:

Picture of Maggie ChenMaggie Chen is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University. She has served as Director of GW’s Institute for International Economic Policy and worked as an economist in the research department of the World Bank and a consultant for the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. Professor Chen’s research areas include multinational firms, international trade, and regional trade agreements. Her work has been published in academic journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Journal of International Economics, and Journal of Development Economics. She is a co-editor of Economic Inquiry and an associate editor of Economic Modeling.

Picture of Chris FussnerChris Fussner is founder and president of TransTechnology Worldwide, based in Singapore, a market leader in the sales and distribution of surface mount technology with offices in 9 countries in Asia and 3 countries in North America. Prior to forming TransTechnology in 1988, Mr. Fussner headed Far East Sales for Amistar Corporation based in Seoul, Korea and Singapore, where he was responsible for Sales and Service for electronics manufacturing industry machines in the Pacific, as well as the Western United States. Mr. Fussner started his international career working with relief and refugee resettlement in West Africa and Malaysia. He holds a B.A. in History and Asian Studies from GW, and a Master of International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He previously served on the board of advisors for GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Picture of Frank WongFrank Wong is President of Scholastic Asia, and based in Hong Kong. Before joining Scholastic Asia as President over 15 years ago, he was Managing Director of PepsiCo’s food business in China and established best practices in sales execution and in-store merchandising. Prior to PepsiCo, Frank Wong spent 5 years with Nabisco, successfully building the company’s international brand identity. Wong also held various marketing positions at Colgate-Palmolive in New York and was co-founder and President of a start-up venture to develop and market special electronic products for the visually impaired around the world. Mr. Wong was born in Hong Kong and speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese. In addition to his degree from GW, he holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University and did advanced studies at Harvard’s JFK School of Government. He is the recipient of the 2015 Alumni Outstanding Service Award from the GW Alumni Association.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement: Trading Up in the Era of COVID-19

 

Friday, October 23, 2020
9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. (EDT)
Via Webex

The ACFTA and Africa’s Economic Future
A conversation with Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, on the road ahead for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. If successful, the AfCTFA agreement will create the largest free trade area in the world, connecting 1.3 billion people across 55 countries, for a combined GDP of some $3.4 trillion. The COVID-19 crisis has generated new challenges but has made the success of the agreement–which offers a major opportunity to accelerate growth, increase exports and foreign direct investment, and potentially lift 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty–a matter of even greater urgency. Joining the conversation was be Florizelle Liser, president and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa and former U.S. Trade Representative for Africa; and Anthony Carroll, Vice President of Manchester Trade, and a specialist in trade, investment, and development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

About the Speakers:

Albert Muchanga joined the African Union Commission as Commissioner for Trade and Industry in March 2017. In this position, he has spearheaded the AU’s efforts in driving the negotiations, conclusion and ratification of the AfCFTA agreement, which entered into force in May 2019. Ambassador Muchanga has extensive experience in the promotion of inter-governmental relations, engagement with the private sector and civil society as well as promotion of regional integration and cooperation as levers of sustainable development. He previously worked in the Zambian Civil Service and served as Zambia’s Ambassador to Brazil and Ethiopia, and Deputy Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community.
 
 

Florizelle (Florie) Liser is the third President and CEO of CCA. Ms. Liser brings expertise and an extensive network on trade and Africa to her new role, along with a strong track record of working with the private sector to translate policy into action. She is the first woman to lead the Council since its founding in 1993.

Ms. Liser joined CCA from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she was the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa since 2003. At USTR, she led trade and investment policy towards 49 sub-Saharan African nations and oversaw implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Previously, Ms. Liser served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Industry, Market Access, and Telecommunications from 2000-2003. She also served as Senior Trade Policy Advisor in the Office of International Transportation and Trade at the Department of Transportation from 1987-2000; worked as a Director in USTR’s Office of GATT Affairs, and served as an Associate Fellow at the Overseas Development Council (ODC) from 1975-1980.

Currently, she is a member of the Advisory Council for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Advisory Committee and Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee for the Export-Import Bank (EXIM), and a Board member with the Women in International Trade (WITT). Ms. Liser holds a M.A. in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science from Dickinson College.

 

Tony Carroll is vice president of Manchester Trade, a Washington trade, development and business consulting firm. He is also an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University/SAIS and senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He has 35 years of business and development experience in Africa dating from his Peace Corps service in Botswana (1976-78). He specializes in investments that involve transferring new technologies and methodologies to Africa. He served as assistant general counsel to the Peace Corps, member of the advisory boards of EXIM Bank, OPIC and USTR and was a congressional nominee to the Board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. He currently serves as a director to the Acorus Fund in Hong Kong. He has degrees in economics and law from the University of Denver and an MAPA from the Robert M. LaFollette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

 

 

 

Jennifer G. Cooke is director of the Institute for African Studies at The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs. The Institute serves as central for research, scholarly discussion, and debate on issues relevant to Africa. She is a professor of practice in international affairs, teaching courses on U.S. Policy Toward Africa and Transnational Security Threats in Africa.

Cooke joined George Washington University in August 2018, after 18 years as director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she led research and analysis on political, economic, and security dynamics in Africa. While at CSIS, Cooke directed projects on a wide range of African issues, including on violent extremist organizations in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, China’s growing role in Africa, democracy and elections in Nigeria, religion and state authority in Africa, “stress-testing” state stability in Africa, Africa’s changing energy landscape, and more. She is a frequent writer and lecturer on U.S.-Africa policy and has provided briefing, commentary, and testimony to the media, US Congress, AFRICOM leadership and the U.S. military.

She has traveled widely in Africa and has been an election observer in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, and Nigeria. As a teenager, she lived in Cote d’Ivoire and the Central African Republic. She holds an M.A. in African studies and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. in government, magna cum laude, from Harvard University.

 

Cosponsored by:

 

Mardi Dungey Memorial Research Conference

Mardi Dungey Memorial Research Conference
Friday, February 21, 2020
8:00 am – 5:30 pm (Conference)
5:30pm – 7:30 pm (Reception)
Lindner Commons, Suite 602
1957 E St NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

On behalf of the Institute for International Economic Policy, the Research Program on Forecasting, the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, University of Tasmania, and the Society for Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics, you are cordially invited to the Mardi Dungey Memorial Research Conference on February 21, 2020. The event is named in honor of Mardi Dungey, Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Tasmania, Adjunct Professor and Program Director, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, ANU, Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Financial Analysis and Policy at Cambridge University, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

Agenda

8:00am- 8:45am: Breakfast

8:45am – 9:10am

Introduction, Stephen Smith, Chair, Department of Economics and Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Institute for International Economic Policy, GWU

Opening Remarks, Tara Sinclair, George Washington University

9:10 – 9:30am: A Panel on Mardi Dungey’s Contributions

Vanessa Smith, University of York

Renee Fry-McKibbin, Australian National University

Warwick McKibbin, Australian National University

Chaired by: Renee Fry-McKibbin, Australian National University

9:30 – 10:30am

Econometrics of Option Pricing with Stochastic Volatility, Eric Renault, University of Warwick

Chaired by: Vance Martin, University of Melbourne

10:30 – 11:00am: Coffee Break

11:00 – 11:45am

Leaning Against the Wind: An Empirical Cost-Benefit Analysis, Gaston Gelos, International Monetary Fund

Chaired by: Tara Sinclair, George Washington University

11:45am – 12:30pm

The Gains from Catch-up for China and the U.S.: An Empirical Framework, Denise Osborn, University of Manchester

Chaired by: Simon van Norden, HEC Montréal, CIREQ & CIRANO

12:30 – 1:30pm: Lunch Break

1:30 – 2:30pm

Measurement of Factor Strength: Theory and Practice, Hashem Pesaran, Cambridge University

Chaired by: Nigel Ray, International Monetary Fund

2:30 – 2:45pm: Coffee Break

2:45 – 3:30pm

Inflation: Expectations, Structural Breaks, and Global Factors, Pierre Siklos, Wilfrid Laurier University

Chaired by: Gerald Dwyer, Clemson University

3:30 – 4:15pm

Multivariate Trend-Cycle-Seasonal Decomposition with Correlated Innovations, Jing Tian, University of Tasmania

Chaired by: Edda Claus, Wilfrid Laurier University

4:15 – 4:30pm: Coffee Break

4:30 – 5:15pm

The Center and the Periphery: Two Hundred Years of International Borrowing Cycles, Graciela Kaminsky, George Washington University

Chaired by: Brenda Gonzalez-Hermosillo, International Monetary Fund

5:15 – 5:30pm: Closing Remarks

Marty Robinson, Australian Treasury

Vladimir Volkov, University of Tasmania

Warwick McKibbin, Australian National University

Chaired by: Renee Fry-McKibbin, Australian National University

5:30 – 7:30pm: Reception

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Digital Trade

Thursday, October 31, 2019
12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m.

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street NW
Washington, D.C 20052

Data has become the most traded good and/or service across borders. The American economy is increasingly reliant on digital trade. But the US does not yet participate in any explicit binding digital trade agreements. Meanwhile, many countries have adopted policies that inhibit digital trade, including requirements that data be stored locally or restricting services provided by foreign firms. Such policies not only affect U.S. Internet and technology firms, but the users and small businesses that rely on an open digital environment.

There have been lots of panels on digital trade, but this event will provide an opportunity to better understand why data is governed in trade agreements, what are the barriers to digital trade, and how digital trade rules may affect important policy objectives such as internet openness, the gig economy, innovation, and national security.​

PANELISTS:
Matthew Reisman
Microsoft
Meredith Broadbent
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Rachael Stelly
Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
Burcu Kilic
Public Citizen

MODERATOR:
Susan Aaronson
Research Professor, GWU and Director, Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub

This event is co-sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP at GWU), the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub, and the Internet Society DC (ISOC-DC). This event is also organized in conjunction with the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA).

IMF World Economic Outlook

Schedule

9:30 – 9:45  Opening Remarks: Maggie Chen, Director, Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University 
9:45 – 10:15 

Chapter 1: Global Prospects and Policies 

• Presenter: Malhar Nabar, Deputy Division Chief, WEO Division, Research Department, International Monetary Fund 

10:15 – 10:30  Coffee Break 
10:30 – 11:15 

Chapter 2: The Rise of Corporate Market Power and Its Macroeconomic Effects 

• Presenter: Romain Duval, Advisor to the Chief Economist, Research Department, International Monetary Fund

• Discussant: Zia Qureshi, Visiting Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution

11:15 – 11:30  Coffee Break 
11:30 – 12:15 

Chapter 3: The Price of Capital Goods: A Driver of Investment Under Threat? 

• Presenter: Natalija Novta, Economist, WEO Division, Research Department, International Monetary Fund
• Discussant: Paulo Bastos, Senior Economist, DECTI, World Bank

12:15  Concluding Remarks

 

Maggie Chen

George Washington University 

Maggie Chen is a professor of economics and international affairs at The George Washington University. Her areas of research expertise include foreign direct investment, international trade, and regional trade agreements and her work has been published extensively in academic journals such as American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, and Journal of International Economics. She has worked as an economist in the research department of the World Bank, a trade policy advisor at the U.S. Congressional Budget Office leading policy analysis on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and a consultant for various divisions of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation advising issues ranging from foreign direct investment and technical trade barriers to the Belt and Road Initiative and contributing to various World Bank flagship studies and the World Development Report. She is a co-editor of the Economic Inquiry. Professor Chen received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her B.A. in Economics from Beijing Normal University. 

Malhar Nabar 

International Monetary Fund 

Malhar Nabar is Deputy Division Chief in the World Economic Studies Division, where he is part of the core team that produces the WEO. In previous roles at the IMF, Malhar has covered China and Japan, and was Mission Chief to Hong Kong SAR. Prior to joining the IMF, Malhar taught at Wellesley College. His research interests are in investment and productivity growth, and he has published in various journals including Journal of Development Economics, Economic Inquiry, and Journal of Macroeconomics. He holds a PhD from Brown University and a BA from Oxford University. 

Romain Duval 

International Monetary Fund 

Romain Duval is an advisor to the Chief Economist in the IMF Research Department, where he also leads the Structural Reforms Unit. Previously he was the division chief for Regional Studies of the IMF Asia Pacific Department and led the Regional Economic Outlook. Prior to joining the Fund, he was the division chief for Structural Policies Surveillance at the OECD Economics Department, where he was also the editor of the flagship publication Going for Growth. He has published extensively in leading academic and policy-oriented journals on a wide range of topics including the economics and political economy of labor and product market regulations, growth, productivity, trade, monetary policy, equilibrium real exchange rates, and climate change economics. Over the years his research has also been profiled numerous times in leading global newspapers and magazines such as The Economist, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. 

Zia Qureshi 

Brookings Institution 

Zia Qureshi is a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He also advises and consults for several other organizations. His research and commentary cover a broad range of global economic issues, including a recent focus on how technology is reshaping the economic agenda. He has published widely on these issues. Prior to joining Brookings, he worked at the World Bank and the IMF for thirty-five years, holding several leadership positions, including serving as Director, Development Economics, at the Bank and as Executive Secretary of the Joint Bank-Fund Ministerial Development Committee. He represented the Bank at major international forums, including the G20. He led a number of Bank and Fund flagship publications. He holds a DPhil in Economics from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. 

Natalija Novta 

International Monetary Fund 

Natalija Novta is an Economist at the IMF’s Research Department, where she works on the World Economic Outlook. She previously worked in the Western Hemisphere and the Fiscal Affairs Departments contributing to the Regional Economic Outlook and the Fiscal Monitor, respectively. Before joining the Fund, she worked at the Fiscal Council of Serbia, the Serbian Ministry of Finance, and the National Bureau of Economic Research. She holds a PhD in Economics from New York University, and a BA from Harvard University. Her research has focused on economic development, conflict, climate change, trade flows, and public sector employment. She has published at the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of the European Economic Association, Journal of Conflict Research and International Tax and Public Finance. 

Paulo Bastos 

World Bank 

Paulo Bastos is a Senior Economist with the Development Research Group of the World Bank in the Trade and International Integration Unit (DECTI). His research interests include the drivers of firm performance in export markets, links between globalization and technological change, and the distributional impacts of trade and FDI. His recent research exploits large administrative data sets to address these topics. He has published in scholarly journals such as the American Economic Review, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Industrial Economics and International Journal of Industrial Organization. Prior to joining the World Bank, he held positions at the Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Commission and the University of Nottingham. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Nottingham and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Porto. 

Economic Diversification in the Post-Oil Era

Friday, April 12, 2019
9:00 am – 10:30 am

Hosting Kuwait’s Minister of Finance 

Elliott School of International Affairs
State room, 7th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052


Schedule

09:00-09:30 a.m

Registration, Light Refreshments, and Networking

09:30-09:40 a.m.

Welcome Remarks by Amb. Ghnem

09:40-10:20 a.m 

one -on-one discussion with H.E. Dr. Nayef F. Al-Hajraf moderated by Prof. Robert Weiner

10:20 a.m.-10:30 a.m

Audience Q&A

India and USA: Shared Prosperity, Opportunities, and Challenges

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: City View Room

About the Event:

This event is hosted by the Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP), the Federation of India’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies. Elliott School Dean Reuben Brigety III will provide welcoming remarks, which will be followed by a fireside chat with H.E. Amb. Shringla moderated by IIEP Visiting Scholar and FICCI Chief Economic Advisor, Ajay Chhibber. A panel of experts on education, infrastructure investments, and pharmaceuticals will conclude the event.

Schedule:

Welcome remarks………………… Professor Maggie Chen
                                                                   Director, Institute for International Economic Policy, GWU
                                      ………………… Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II
                                                                  Dean, Elliot School of International Affairs, GWU
Fireside chat………………………… H.E. Harsh Vardhan Shringla
                                                                  Ambassador of India to the United States of America
                          …………………………. Ajay Chhibber
                                                                  Visiting Scholar, Institute for International Economic Policy, GWU
                                                                  Chief Economic Advisor, Federation of Indian Chambers of
                                                                  Commerce and Industry
Expert panel……………………..… Subir V. Gokarn
                                                           Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and SriLanka, International Monetary  Fund
                           …………………..…… Sofia Mumtaz
                                                                President, Lupin Limited
                          ……..………………… Adrian Mutton
                                                               Founder & CEO, Sannam S4 Group of companies & U.S.
                                                              Business Centers
Moderated by………………….… Ridhika Batra
                                                              Country Head / Director, Federation of Indian Chambers of
                                                             Commerce and Industry, U.S.

Artificial Intelligence: What Can We Learn from Other Countries’ Approaches?

Friday, January 25, 2019

12:30pm to 2:00pm – Lunch will be provided

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are changing the way that we live, work and learn. In many countries, policymakers and business leaders recognize the transformational importance of AI and are developing policies to ensure that their country is competitive. To be competitive in AI requires not only significant capital, but also skills, research, an adequate supply of data, and effective governance policies. Hence, the United States has the “Artificial Intelligence for the American People” strategy. The EU has a Euros 20 billion AI investment strategy and the European AI Alliance. Canadian officials have drafted a Pan-Canadian AI Strategyand the Superclusters initiative. Germany has prepared a new plan, investments and a marketing strategy for AI services. In addition, Japan has created an initiative to fund collaborative AI projects between start-ups and large companies.  

This event will examine what policymakers can learn from these distinct government approaches. Should governments take the lead in AI investment and in prioritizing areas for research, development and commercialization? Or should the private sector lead with taxpayer investment in basic AI R & D and public-private partnerships where needed? Please join IIEP, the GWU Institute for International Science and Technology Policy, and the Software & Information Industry Association(SIIA) for a lunchtime discussion on these important issues.

Welcoming remarks: Susan Ariel Aaronson, Research Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University

Moderator: Carl Schonander, Senior Director, International Public Policy, SIIA

Confirmed Speakers:

Anthony J. Scriffignano, Ph.D., SVP / Chief Data Scientist, Dunn and Bradstreet
Jesse Spector, Policy Officer, Digital Economy; ICT, European Union
Dr. Tim Persons, Chief Scientist and Managing Director of the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Brad Wood, Senior Policy Advisor, Embassy of Canada
Masayuki Matsui, Counselor, Economic Section, Embassy of Japan

Organizers: Carl Schonander and Dr. Susan Ariel Aaronson

Professor Aaronson will provide an overview document on comparative advantage in AI to all attendees.

Event Summary

This well attended event entitled: “Artificial Intelligence: What Can be Learned from Other Countries Approaches?” can be viewed on youtube here.   Some takeaways included the reality that there are no meaningful estimates of the impact of AI on job creation – in fact, available data can be used to posit both that it contributes to job loss or gain; cybersecurity will include an AI component; and, the AI use skills deficiency in people capable of an inter-disciplinary approach to AI use is both real but also an opportunity.  Given that McKinsey (among other estimates of the economic impact of AI) estimates that AI could deliver up to 16% higher global GDP by 2030, understanding and taking advantage of this technology in a “human-centric” way will be crucial to building popular acceptance of the technology if countries and companies are going to be able to take full advantage of possible AI applications.   

 

Panelists

 

Japanese Embassy Economic Counselor Masayuki Matsui provided valuable information on the Japanese approach to AI development, especially in the international space.  Japan is hosting the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Trade and the Digital Economy on June 8-9, 2019, which will include discussions on AI.  The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Chief Scientist and Managing Director, Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics Timothy M. Persons spoke (link needed) about the GAO’s work on Artificial Intelligence, as well as Administration policy in “Artificial Intelligence for the American People.”  The GAO has focused on AI’s impact for cybersecurity, automated vehicles, criminal justice and financial services.  Canadian Embassy Senior Policy Advisor Brad Wood focused on the AI ecosystem in Canada, especially efforts to foster research excellence, promote AI across sectors, enhance public trust in the technology, and spearhead international collaboration.  European Union Digital Policy Officer Jesse Spector spoke about the “four pillars” of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Policy, which includes policies around investment, data, skills and trust.  With respect to trust, the Digital Policy Officer noted the European Commission’s draft ethics guidelines on Artificial Intelligence developed by a multi-stakeholder High Level Expert Group (SIIA will submit a comment on those guidelines on February 1, 2019).    Dun and Bradstreet Senior Vice President and Chief Data Scientist Anthony J. Scriffignano talked  about how while there are many “head winds” propelling AI adoption, there are “tail winds,” including a serious skills gap, something all the panelists agreed was a serious problem. 

 

Some Takeaways

 

Cybersecurity and law enforcement in general will depend on smart applications of AI:  The “changing face of malfeasance,” as Anthony J. Scriffignano puts it, involves using AI to combat it.  The GAO considers that AI will be crucial in ensuring cybersecurity.  For instance, automated systems can help by identifying vulnerabilities; patching vulnerabilities; detecting attacks, and defending against active attacks.  In general, AI technologies are important to the SIIA member companies that are engaged in providing anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, know-your-customer and other services important to law enforcement. 

 

There are no meaningful estimates of the impact of AI on net job creation or destruction:  There is a wide debate on the possible impact of AI on jobs.  And there are many reports with estimates based on seemingly large data sets and solid methodologies.  But the reality seems to be that available data can support the notion that AI leads to job loss and vice versa.  For instance, many reports are based on what computer scientists guess with respect to which tasks in which jobs can possibly be done technically by today’s machine learning programs.  So, for example, salad making could be programmed; therefore that part of the job of short order cooks is at risk and therefore there will be a need for fewer of them.  However, often the cost of using a robot to make that salad is not factored into the analysis, thereby not providing a realistic sense of whether an employer would want to use AI technologies to make the salad in the first place.     

 

There is a consensus that there is a need for skills development, especially in inter-disciplinary work: If there was one thing that all panelists agreed upon, other than than that AI will have a profound impact, it is that there is a growing need for skills development.  Interestingly, that does not mean that everybody needs to learn how to write code and become a computer programmer, although there is certainly a need for more coders and more computer programmers.  There is a reason why U.S. college students are demanding more courses in this field as the NYT recently reported.   What it does mean, particularly in this era of growing calls for “explainable AI” (itself a challenging concept), is that there will be an increasing need for individuals who know how to use AI technologies appropriately.  There was a discussion, for instance, about how AI is going to become an increasingly important part of the criminal justice system.  So that means that prosecutors and others have to work with professionals who are conversant with the technology and who also understand the laws and ethical considerations underpinning criminal justice work.  That is a different skill set from the work conducted by today’s IT professionals.    

 

Conclusion

 

There is a reason why AI dominated the conversation at the Davos World Economic Forum.  Although AI has experienced period of hype in the past, it seems like “this time it is different,” in terms of usable relatively near term potential AI applications in fields as different as drug discovery, criminal justice, cybersecurity, financial services, fraud prevention and many many other spaces.  SIIA will continue to work with academic institutions such as George Washington University in exploring the policy implications of AI developments.  We also hope to work with the U.S. Congress and international institutions in understanding better what kind of inter-disciplinary training is needed to prepare the professionals of tomorrow.   Given the U.S., Japanese, EU, and Canadian interest in skills development, this need for inter-disciplinary expertise could perhaps be supported at the June 8-9, 2019 G20 meeting in Japan. 

8th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 27, 2018

Inter-American Development Bank CR-200
1330 New York Avenue NW
Washington DC 20577

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions. Please note that WAITS conferences are open to the public but participants are asked to register here.

View the Schedule
8:15 – 8:50 AM: Continental Breakfast and Registration
8:50 – 9:00 AM: Opening Remarks
Antoni Estevadeordal, Manager, Integration and Trade Sector, Inter-American Development Bank
Mike Moore, George Washington University
9:00 – 9:45 AM: Policy Credibility and Firm Growth in the Global Economy
Nuno Limao, University of Maryland
Discussant: Luciana Juvenal, IMF
9:45 – 10:30 AM: Uncertainty and Trade Elasticities
Olga Timoshenko, George Washington University
Discussant: Ina Simonovska, University of Maryland
10:30 – 10:45 AM: Coffee Break
10:45 – 11:30 AM: Information and Exports: Firm-Level Evidence From an Online Platform
Christian Volpe Martincus, Inter-American Development Bank
Discussant: Maggie Chen, George Washington University
11:30 – 12:15 PM: The Impact of Trade on Managerial Incentives and Productivity
Cristina Tello-Trillo, U.S. Census Bureau
Discussant: Anna Maria Mayda, Georgetown University
12:15 – 1:00 PM: Investment Responses to Trade Liberalization: Evidence from U.S. Industries and Establishments
Justin Pierce, Federal Reserve Board
Discussant: Fariha Kamal, U.S. Census Bureau
1:00 – 2:00 PM: Lunch (Provided)
2:00 – 2:45 PM: Goods and Factor Market Integration: A Quantitative Assessment of the EU Enlargement
Fernando Parro, SAIS– Johns Hopkins University
Discussant: Mariano Somale, Federal Reserve Board
2:45 – 3:30 PM: Assessing Market (Dis) Integration in Pre-Modern China and Europe Dan Bernhofen, American University
Discussant: Paulo Bastos, World Bank
3:30 – 3:45 PM: Coffee Break
3:45 – 4:30 PM: The Trade Effects of the New Silk Road
Michele Ruta, World Bank
Discussant: Mauricio Mesquita Moreira, Inter-American Development Bank
4:30 – 5:15 PM: How Does Industry Comparative Advantage Affect Establishments?
Serge Shikher, USITC
Discussant: Kara Reynolds, American University
5:15 – 6:00 PM: Endogenous Trade Policy in a Global Value Chain: Evidence from Chinese Micro-level Processing Trade
Rod Ludema, Georgetown University
Discussant: Paul Piveteau, SAIS– Johns Hopkins University
6:00 – 6:15 PM: Closing Remarks
Aaron Flaaen, Federal Reserve Board
Christian Volpe Martincus, Inter-American Development Bank

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Brazilian Trade Policy: Standards and Strategy

Aluisio De-Lima Campos

Adjunct Professor and Chairmain of the ABCI Institute – American University Washington College of Law

Diego Eugenio Pizeta

PhD Candidate in International Political Economy and Guest Researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

 

Brazilian Trade Policy: Standards and Strategy

Join the Brazil Initiative for the panel:

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

7:00 to 9:00pm – Reception to Follow

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

A Fresh Look at Digital Trade in North America

Susan Ariel Aaronson

Research Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University

Jessica Nicholson

Department of Commerce

A Fresh Look at Digital Trade in North America

Friday, December 1, 2017

12:00 to 2:00pm

 

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

While TPP has the first binding language in its e-commerce chapter, NAFTA could be the first digital economy trade agreement designed to facilitate data-driven sectors such as the cloud, AI, and the Internet of Things. The Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP) and the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program (LAHS) at the George Washington University as well as the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) present a free event on the data-driven economy in North America. To read Susan Ariel Aaronson’s paper, please click here.

Agenda
Panel 1: Measuring the North American Digital Economy
  • Speaker: Jessica Nicholson, Department of Commerce
  • Commentary by:
    • Martha Lawless, USITC
    • Jordan Khan, Embassy of Canada
    • Nicholas Bramble, Google
  • Moderator: Carl Schonander, Software & Information Industry Association
Panel 2: A Comprehensive Approach to Digital Trade in NAFTA 2.0
  • Speaker: Professor Susan Ariel Aaronson
  • Commentary by:
    • Dan Ciuriak, Centre for International Governance Innovation
    • Guillermo Malpica Soto, Embassy of Mexico
  • Moderator: Dan Ikenson, Cato Institute

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

NAFTA Renegotiation: International Trade and Arbitration Going Forward

A Panel on NAFTA Renegotiation

International Trade and Arbitration Going Forward

Thursday, November 16, 2017

12:00 to 1:30pm

 

George Washington University Law School
Tasher Great Room (Burns 101)
2000 H St NW
Washington, DC 20052

With the fifth round of NAFTA renegotiations set to commence on November 17, 2017, the Trump Administration’s objects for investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the final agreement have been front and center. Given the timeliness and the importance of the renegotiation efforts, the panelists will be in a unique position to discuss the merits of potential changes to the ISDS provisions as well as other aspects of the trade agreement.

Our panelists and moderator will discuss, among other things, potential changes to Chapter 11 ISDS provisions, the intersection of U.S. industry and ISDS, and substantive protections. The International Arbitration Student Association and International Law Society of The George Washington University Law School hopes that you will be able to join us for this panel discussion.

 

Moderator:

  • Steve Charnovitz (Professor, The George Washington University Law School) Professor Charnovitz is an associate professor at the GWU Law School. Prior to joining the Law School in 2004, Professor Charnovitz was the director of the Global Environment and Trade Study at Yale and from 1991-1995 he was the policy director at the U.S. Competitiveness Policy Council. Professor Charnovitz serves or has served on the editorial boards of the American Journal of international Law, the Journal of International Economic Law, and the World Trade Review. He is a member of the Council on Foreign relations and the American Law Institute. He has authored, co-authored, or edited more than 215 scholarly publications over his career and written multiple books on the topic of international trade law, the most recent being The Path of World Trade Law in the 21st Century.

Panelists:

  • James Mendenhall (Partner, Sidley Austin)Mr. Mendenhall is a partner in the International Arbitration and International Trade practice groups at Sidley Austin. He is the former General Counsel of the Office of the US Trade Representative where he represented US interests before the WTO and in NAFTA disputes. In this capacity he was the chief negotiator for the US in the Softwood Lumber negotiations with Canada and served as the USTR representative on the CFIUS. Mr. Mendenhall has represented clients in numerous international arbitration and invest-state proceedings under ICSID and UNCIRAL arbitration rules and routinely advises clients on international trade negotiations, trade policy, national security regulations, and legislative matters.
  • George Kalantzakis (Manager, International Government Affairs, Hess Corporation) Mr. Kalantzakis is the Manager of International Government Affairs at Hess Corporation, a Fortune 500 American based oil and gas company with global operations. Prior to joining Hess, Mr. Kalantzakis worked under the Chief Economist at the American Petroleum Institute. He received his graduate degree from The John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Following graduation from SAIS, he received his MBA from John Hopkins.
  • Patrick Childress (Associate, Sidley Austin)Mr. Childress is an associate in the International Arbitration practice group at Sidley Austin. He focuses primarily on international dispute settlement including investment treaty arbitration and international commercial arbitration. He has represented investors and governments in proceedings before the ICSID as well as in arbitrations under the Arbitration Rules of the UNCITRAL, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the London Court of International Arbitration.
  • Todd Tucker (Fellow, Roosevelt Institute)Todd Tucker is a Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute who specializes in economic governance, dispute settlement, and regulatory implications of international trade, investment, and tax treaties. He is a co-author of The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority which explores the history of U.S. Executive-congressional relations on trade. He has authored more than 60 major reports and is often published and cited in and on CNN, NPR, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post for his expertise on the intersection of the domestic and global economy.

2017 Intensive Trade Seminar: Spring Session

Thursday, June 8, 2017

9:00am to 4:30pm – Reception to Follow

 

House of Sweden
2900 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20007

The WITA Intensive Trade Seminar (ITS) Spring Session provides an in-depth look into critical trade issues, and provides an overview of how the US Government formulates and enforces trade policy.

Along with the Fall ITS, these sessions provide a unique opportunity for attendees to increase their professional knowledge base and broaden their network of contacts by learning the nuts and bolts of trade policy from career trade policymakers from the US Government and Capitol Hill, the private sector, NGO’s, and other players in the trade policy arena.

The Intensive Trade Seminar addressed four important trade issues:

US Trade Law

Speakers including Stacy J. Ettinger, Partner at K&L Gates LLP and Hon. F. Scott Kieff, Commissioner at U.S. International Trade Commission, discussed what we might expect to see from the Trump Administration’s enforcement agenda, and the impact that could have on U.S. jobs, American consumers, and the global trading system.

International Tax and Competitiveness

This session featuring James Gould, Principal at Ogilvy Government Relations, and Catherine Schultz, Vice President for Tax Policy at National Foreign Trade Council, provided an overview of the international tax regime, efforts to reform the tax treatment of foreign earnings and investment, and the implications of these policies on the competitiveness of US firms.

Digital Trade

This session highlighted new technologies and how trade policies can be adapted to 21st Century business. Speakers included Christine Bliss, President at Coalition of Services Industries, and Stephen Ezell, Vice President of Global Innovation Policy at The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

Views on Trade from Around the World

This session looked at the future of trade in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Speakers included David Brightling, Counsellor (Trade), Embassy of Australia; Rodrigo A. Contreras, Head of Economic Department / Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Chile; Damien Levie, Head of Section – Trade and Agriculture section, Delegation of the European Union to the United States of America; Katrin Kuhlmann, President and Founder, New Markets Lab.

7th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 21, 2017

Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University 1957 E Street NW Suite 505
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule
8:30 – 9:00 AM: Continental Breakfast and Registration
9:00 – 9:40 AM: Eunhee Lee (University of Maryland):
“Trade, Inequality, and the Endogenous Sorting of Heterogeneous Workers”
Discussant: Lindsay Oldenski (Georgetown University)
9:40 – 10:20 AM: Ferdinando Monte (Georgetown University):
“The Local Incidence of Trade Shocks”
Discussant: Illenin Kondo (Federal Reserve Board)
10:20 – 10:40 AM: Coffee Break
10:40 – 11:20 AM: Paul Piveteau (SAIS-Johns Hopkins):
“An empirical dynamic model of trade with consumer accumulation”
Discussant: Colin Hottman (Federal Reserve Board)
11:20 – 12:00 PM: Aaron Flaaen (Federal Reserve Board):
“The Role of Transfer Prices in Profit Shifting by U.S. Multinationals: Evidence from the 2004 Homeland Investment”
Discussant: JaeBin Ahn (International Monetary Fund)
12:00 – 1:40 PM: Lunch and Keynote:
Keith Maskus (Chief Economist Department of State and University of Colorado-Boulder)
1:40 – 2:20 PM: Maggie Chen (George Washington University):
“An Anatomy of Foreign Investment News”
Discussant: Rod Ludema (Georgetown University)
2:20 – 3:00 PM: Moises Yi (Census Bureau):
“Industry Mix, Local Labor Markets, and the Incidence of Trade Shocks”
Discussant: Marisol Rodriguez Chatruc (Inter-American Development Bank)
3:00 – 3:20 PM: Coffee Break
3:20 – 4:00 PM: Juan Blyde (Inter-American Development Bank):
“The Impact of Chinese Competition on Mexican Labor Outcomes”
Discussant: Claire Brunel (American University)
4:00 – 4:40 PM: Aaditya Mattoo (World Bank):
“Trade Creation and Trade Diversion in Deep Agreements”
Discussant: Peter Herman (United States International Trade Commission)

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Growth Strategies in a De-Globalizing World

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

4:00 to 5:30pm – Reception to Follow

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
City View Room, 7th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

The Institute for International Economic Policy and the Growth Dialogue cordially invite you to participate in a Ministerial Dialogue at the time of the Spring Meetings of the IMF/World Bank. The conversation, to be chaired by Danny Leipziger, Prof. of International Business and International Affairs, George Washington University and Managing Director of the Growth Dialogue, will focus on the impact of current shifts in the global economic landscape and their implications for national growth strategies.

The event will be followed by a reception at the City View Room from 5:30pm to 7:00pm.

Participants will include:

The Hon. Mauricio Cárdenas, Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Colombia

The Hon. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance, Indonesia

The Hon. Santiago Peña, Minister of Finance, Paraguay

The Hon. Malusi Gigaba, Minister of Finance, South Africa

Dr. Hyun Oh-Seok, Former Minister of Strategy & Finance, Korea

Dr, Joaquim Levy, Managing Director, World Bank

Dr. Adam Posen, President, Peterson Institute for International Economics

How Presidents Make Economic Policy in Times of Crisis” feat. Alejandro Bonvecchi

Thursday, February 16, 2017

12:00 to 2:00pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

This project argues that presidents organize decision-making to respond to economic crises not driven by personality or institutional constraints, but rather by cognitive contexts. The higher the frequency of crises, the more inclined the president to use hierarchical, rather than collegial, decision-making processes. The argument is tested comparing cases in the US and Argentina.

Alejandro Bonvecchi holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Buenos Aires and a Ph.D. in Government from the University of Essex. He is an Assistant Professor at the Torcuato Di Tella University in Buenos Aires and an Adjunct Research of the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research in Argentina, where he works on presidential and legislative politics and the political economy of economic policymaking. He has published four books, and his work has appeared in Presidential Studies Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Publius, Latin American Politics and Society, and Journal of Politics in Latin America.

View the presentation here

Discussants

Stephen Kaplan, Associate Professor of Political Science and International affairs at The George Washington University

Stephen B. Kaplan is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs. Professor Kaplan’s research and teaching interests focus on the frontiers of international and comparative political economy, where he specializes in the political economy of global finance and development, the rise of China in the Western Hemisphere, and Latin American politics. Professor Kaplan joined the GWU faculty in the fall of 2010 after completing a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University and his Ph.D at Yale University. While at Yale, Kaplan also worked as a researcher for former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo at the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Prior to his doctoral studies, Professor Kaplan was a senior economic analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, writing extensively on developing country economics, global financial market developments, and emerging market crises from 1998 to 2003. He received his B.A in International Relations and Economics from Tufts University, and an M.S in International Economic Development from Georgetown University.

Jay Shambaugh, Professor of Economics and International Affairs at The George Washington University

Jay Shambaugh is a professor of economics and international affairs at the George Washington University. He is the director of the Institute for International Economic Policy. Professor Shambaugh’s area of research is macroeconomics and international economics. His work includes analysis of the interaction of exchange rate regimes with monetary policy, capital flows, and trade flows as well as studies of international reserves holdings, country balance sheet exchange rate exposure, the cross-country impact of fiscal policy, and the current crisis in the euro area. In addition to his book, Exchange Rate Regimes in the Modern Era (MIT Press, 2009), Shambaugh has published in The American Economic Review, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, and other leading journals. Prior to joining the faculty at George Washington, Shambaugh taught at Georgetown and Dartmouth and served as first Senior Economist for International Economics and then Chief Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the NBER and a visiting scholar at the IMF. Shambaugh received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. from the Fletcher School at Tufts, and a B.A. from Yale University.

Trumping Trade Orthodoxy

Friday, February 3, 2017

9:00am to 4:00pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

President Trump has promised a markedly new direction in U.S. trade policy through tweets, appointments, and executive orders. Regardless of these first steps and initial press reports, substantial questions remain about whether some of the actions in fact can be adopted within existing legislative and constitutional constraints. In other areas, President Trump’s authority to pursue radically different policies likely are well-established. George Washington’s Institute for International Economic Policy hosted a full day conference to examine what President Trump can, and cannot, do on trade policy without new congressional authorization. Participants will hear from panels that will include a team of two leading lawyers and economists with substantial first-hand trade policy experience. This conference provided audience members with important perspectives on the limits of President Trump’s emerging trade policy.

 View video from the conference at the IIEP YouTube Channel

View the Schedule
8:15 AM – 9:00 AM: Registration and Breakfast

 

9:00 AM – 9:15 AM: Opening Remarks and Introduction, Michael Moore (George Washington University)

 

9:15 AM – 10:15 AM: Trade Remedies

The President has substantial leeway for initiating various trade remedy actions (antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguards). U.S. trade law practice and procedure may limit the scope of imposing duties under these provisions.

10:15 AM – 11:15 AM: China as a ‘Currency Manipulator’

The U.S. Treasury may determine that a country manipulates its currency but only under certain statutory conditions. Would China qualify under those provisions? What consequences might it face if China is declared a “currency manipulator”?

11:15 AM – 11:30 AM: Coffee Break

 

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Renegotiating/Leaving Existing Trade Agreements

U.S. trade agreements such as NAFTA allow for either Party to announce a withdrawal with six months’ notice. Can President Trump do so without congressional approval? What would be the impact on U.S. trade and investment flows if he were to follow through with such threats?

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM: Lunch

 

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Tax Policy, Investment Agreements, & Foreign Direct Investment

President Trump has suggested imposing 35 percent tariffs on individual U.S. firms that offshore manufacturing jobs. Can the Administration single out individual companies in this way? How might such threats increase uncertainty on inward and outward U.S. foreign investment?

2:30 PM – 2:45 PM: Coffee Break

 

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM: Possible WTO Disputes

An aggressive new U.S. trade policy may result in formal disputes with WTO members. What are the most likely cases that might arise? How might the U.S. economy be affected if the WTO rules in favor of those who contest new U.S. approaches in trade policy?

3:45 PM – 4:00 PM: Concluding Remarks

2nd Annual Frenzel Memorial Lecture

 See video of the event here.

 

Thursday October 6, 2016

5:00 to 6:30pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

On behalf of the Institute for International Economic Policy, GWU, and the International Tax and Investment Center, you are cordially invited to the 2nd Annual Frenzel Memorial Lecture on Tax and Trade on October 6, 2016. The event is named in honor of Bill Frenzel, the founding Chairman of the ITIC and 10-term U.S. House of Representatives Member. Frenzel, who passed away in 2014, is best known for having been a leading authority on tax and trade issues in Congress. The Frenzel Memorial Lecture will feature the Honorable Robert B. Zoellick, former World Bank President.

 

5:00 PM: Welcome and Introduction and Tribute to Bill Frenzel
  • Ambassador (Ret.) Reuben Brigety, Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs
  • The Honorable Dave Camp, Honorary Co-Chairman, ITIC Board of Directors, Senior Policy Advisor, PwC, Former Chairman, House Committee on Ways and Means
5:05 PM: Setting the Stage
  • Graciela Kaminsky, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GWU, will share some of the research being undertaken at GWU on the challenges facing the global economy
5:15 PM: Q&A Interview Discussion: Trade & Global Macroeconomic Policy
  • The Honorable Robert B. Zoellick, former World Bank President and former U.S. Trade Representative
  • Moderated by Jeffrey E. Garten, Dean Emeritus of the Yale School of Management, Former Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade
6:30 PM: Reception
  • 6th Floor Lounge, 1957 E Street, NW

6th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 29, 2016

School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
Bernstein-Offit Building, Room 500
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington D.C. 20036

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule
8:30 – 9:00 AM: Continental Breakfast and Opening Comments
9:00 – 9:45 AM: JaeBin Ahn (International Monetary Fund):
“Reassessing the Productivity Gains from Trade Liberalization”
Discussant: Jennifer Poole (American University)
9:45 – 10:30 AM: Olga Timoshenko (George Washington University):
“Learning, Prices, and Firm Dynamics”
Discussant: Luca David Opromolla (Banco de Portugal, University of Maryland and CEPR)
10:30 – 10:45 AM: Coffee Break
10:45 – 11:30 AM: Mine Senses (Johns Hopkins University):
“Trade Shocks and the Provision of Local Public Goods”
Discussant: Erhan Artuc (World Bank)
11:30 – 12:15 PM: J. Bradford Jensen (Georgetown University, Peterson Institute and NBER):
“The Tradability of Services: Geographic Concentration and Trade Costs”
Discussant: Jose Signoret (US International Trade Commission)
12:15 – 1:00 PM: Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00 PM: Kadee Russ (University of California-Davis, Council of Economic Advisers and NBER):
“Trade Policy in Practice: The TPP from an Insider’s Perspective”
2:00 – 2:15 PM: Coffee Break
2:15 – 3:00 PM: Maria Tito (Federal Reserve Board):
“Misallocation, Trade, and Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Data”
Discussant: Maggie Chen (George Washington University)
3:00 – 3:45 PM: Chad P. Bown (Peterson Institute and CEPR):
“Global Supply Chains and Trade Policy”
Discussant: Juan Blyde (Inter-American Development Bank)
3:45 – 4:00 PM: Coffee Break
4:00 – 4:45 PM: Claire Brunel (American University):
“Green Innovation and Green Manufacturing: Links Between Environmental Policies, Innovation and Production”
Discussant: Cristina Tello Trillo (Census Bureau)
4:45 – 5:00 PM: Closing Remarks

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

The Star and the Stripes: A History of the Foreign Policies of American Jews

 

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

5:30 to 7:30pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

Please join the GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Institute for Security and Conflict Studies, and Institute for Middle East Studies for a panel discussion featuring Michael Barnett, University Professor of Political Science and International Affairs (GWU), Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development (University of Maryland), and Tamara Wittes, Director of the Center for Middle East Policy (The Brookings Institution) on Barnett’s new book, “The Star and the Stripes: A History of the Foreign Policies of American Jews.”

 

 

5th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Family Commons, 6th Floor
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule
8:00 AM: Continental Breakfast and Opening Comments
8:15 AM: Paulo Bastos (WB)
Session 1: “Overcoming the Tyranny of History: Evidence from Post-Apartheid South Africa”
Discussant: Remi Jedwab (GW)
9:00 AM: Anna Maria Mayda (GT)
Session 2: “The Impact of Skilled Foreign Workers on Firms: an Investigation of Publicly Traded U.S. Firms”
Discussant: Mine Senses (JHU)
9:45 AM: Coffee Break
10:00 AM: Ryan Monarch (FRB)
Session 3: “Learning and the Value of Relationships in International Trade”
Discussant: Olga Timoshenko (GWU)
10:45 AM: Christian Volpe (IDB)
Session 4: “The Border Labyrinth: Information Technologies and Trade in the Presence of Multiple Agencies”
Discussant: Justin Peirce (FRB)
11:30 AM: Lunch
12:30 PM: Maggie Chen (GWU)
Session 5: “Learning and Reputation in Trade”
Discussant: Serge Shikher (USITC)
1:15 PM: Heiwai Tang (JHU)
Session 6: “Trade-induced Quality Upgrading: Transaction-level Evidence from Portugal”
Discussant: Andrew McCallum (FRB)
2:00 PM: Overflow and Closing Remarks
2:30 PM: End

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Sizing Up the Digital Economy: A Panel Discussing the Digital Economy and International Trade

Monday, April 23, 2018

5:30 to 7:00pm – Reception to Follow

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
The Institute for International Economic Policy at the George Washington University and the Greater Washington DC Chapter of the Internet Society invite you to a panel analyzing the new report of the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on the “digital economy.” The Senate Finance Committee requested that ITC analyze the economic impact of the digital economy. They also requested that ITC examine digital protectionism around the world.

The ITC found that “digital trade, through the combined effects of the Internet in enhancing productivity and lowering international trade costs in certain digitally intensive industries, has resulted in increase in U.S. gross domestic product of some four percent.”

James Stamps, Project Leader, will discuss the ITC Report. He will be followed by a panel of four commentators:

• Michael Mandel, Chief Economic Strategist of the Progressive Policy Institute ,will provide an economic assessment of the report.

• Jacquelynn Ruff, Vice President, International, of Verizon will provide a view from a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP).

• Linda Kinney, Senior Vice President, Motion Picture Association of America, will provide perspective from an association representing content providers.

• Usman Ahmed, Policy Counsel of eBay, will provide analysis from an e-commerce company’s viewpoint.

This event is a brown bag lunch. Light refreshments will be provided by the Progressive Policy Institute.

4th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Thursday, April 25, 2014

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Family Commons, 6th Floor
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

Download the conference schedule here.

 

8:30 – 8:55: Continental breakfast
8:55 – 9:00: Opening Comments — Michael Moore, GWU
9:00 – 9:45: Christian Volpe (IDB)
Session 1: “Customs: What are the Effects on International Trade”(Paper)
Discussant: Nick Zolas (Census)
9:45 – 10:30: Serge Shikher (USITC)
Session 2: “Comparative Advantages of Rich and Poor Countries”(Paper)
Discussant: Kara Reynolds (American)
10:30 – 10:45: Coffee break
10:45 – 11:30: Maggie Chen (GWU)
Session 3: “Foreign Rivals are Coming to Town: Responding to the Threat of Foreign Multinational Entry” (Paper)
Discussant: Bill Lincoln (JHU-SAIS)
11:30 – 12:15: Dan Bernhofen (American)
Session 4: “Estimating the Effects of the Container Revolution on World Trade” (Paper)
Discussant: Gisela Rua (Federal Reserve Board)
12:15 – 1:30: Lunch
1:30 – 2:15: Russell Hillberry (World Bank)
Session 5: “Import Dynamics and Demands for Protection” (Paper)
Discussant: Lindsay Oldenski (Georgetown)
2:15 – 3:00: Andrew McCallum (Federal Reserve Board)
Session 6: “The Structure of Export Entry Costs”
Discussant: Wenjie Chen (GWU)
3:00 – 3:15: Coffee break
3:15 – 4:00: Fariha Kamal (U.S. Census Bureau)
Session 7: “Buyer-Seller Relationships in International Trade: Do your Neighbors Matter?” (Paper)
Discussant: Olga Timoshenko (GWU)
4:00: Closing Comments — Christopher Kurz, Federal Reserve Board

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

3rd Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 12, 2013

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Family Commons, 6th Floor
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

Download the conference schedule here.

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

2nd Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 6, 2012

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

    • Session 2: 9:20-10:10
    • Mine Senses “Globalization, Labor Markets and the Role of Human Capital” Johns Hopkins University-SAIS (with Pravin Krishna and Guru Sethupathy)Presentation

      Teresa Fort as discussant – Comments


    • Coffee Break 

    • Session 3: 10:30-11:20
    • Anna Maria Mayda “Protection for Free? The Political Economy of U.S. Tariff Suspensions” Georgetown University (with Rod Ludema and Prachi Mishra)Presentation

      Michael Moore as discussant – Comments



    • Lunch



    • Coffee Break 

    • Session 7: 3:20-4:10
    • Chris Kurz “Trade and Volatility at the Firm and Plant Level” Federal Reserve Board (with Mine Senses)Presentation

      Logan Lewis as discussant – Comments


George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

1st Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, March 11, 2011

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Is Fairer Trade Compatible with Freer Markets?

Cosponsored by the Government of the Netherlands,
the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Financial Times

Conference Videos coming soon.

Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5, 2010

Lindner Commons, Suite 602
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

March 4, 2010

6:00-7:30 PM – Evening Keynote
Michael Conroy, PhD (Chair of the Board, TransFair)
Fairer Trade and Freer Trade: The Evolution of Strategies That Work for the Poor

March 5, 2010

8:00-8:30 AM Continental breakfast

 

8:30 – 9:00 AM
Introductory Remarks: Steve Suranovic (GWU-IIEP)
“Defining Fairness in Trade”
A description of the conference and an overview of what we mean by fairness as applied in international trade discussions. Do we mean fairness of outcome? Do we mean fairness of process, or both? PPT

 

9:00 – 10:30 AM – Fairness in the Real World
There is a lot of talk about fair trade, but we really know little about what policymakers, academics, and consumers are concerned about when they think about fair trade. This panel will focus on perceptions of fair trade among these groups and how these perceptions play out in global and national markets.
Michael Hiscox (Harvard) PPT
Shareen Hertel (UConn) Paper and PPT
Doug Nelson (Tulane and Univ. of Nottingham) Paper and PPT
Sean Ehrlich (Florida State) Paper

 

10:40-11:00 AM Coffee Break

 

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Consumers and Fair Trade
Is there sufficient consumer demand for products carrying social/eco labels signaling they are fairly produced? Are fair trade strategies workable and sustainable? How do public policies channel or distort fairer trade?
Daniel Stokes (TransFair FLO) Paper
Kelly Johnston (Vice President – Government Affairs, Campbells Soup) Paper
Eric Biel (Managing Director, Corporate Responsibility, Burston Marsteller)
Kim Elliott (CGD)

 

12:30 – 2:00 PM – Luncheon Keynote – “Making Markets Work for the Poor”
Monika Weber-Fahr
 (Global Business Line Leader, IFC, World Bank) PPT
Moderated by: James Politi (The Financial Times)

 

2:00 – 3:30 PM – Producers and Fair Trade
How can market actors work to achieve fairer outcomes for workers? Do such strategies yield more productive workers? How do they affect market share and profits?
David Berdish (Ford Motor Company) Paper
Rene Van Hell (Deputy Director for Trade Politics and Globalization in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Holland) Paper
Bama Athreya (International Labor Rights Forum)
Charita Castro (Division Chief for Operations, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor Affairs) PPT P D F icon

 

3:30 – 3:45 PM – Coffee Break

 

3:45 – 4:30 PM – So, What do you think? Are Freer Markets Compatible with Fairer Outcomes for the Poor?
Prof. Susan Aaronson (GWU) will ask audience questions focused on the Conference objective, “Are Free Markets Compatible with Fairer Outcomes for the poor?”
Will fair trade strategies yield fairer outcomes?
Will they distort trade?
Will consumers respond? If so, what are the best strategies to achieve fairer trade?

4:30 – 4:45 PM – Conclusions
Prof. Steve Suranovic (GWU) will summarize the conference findings: What do we think about these options? What is the future of fairer trade strategies?

Climate Change and the World Trading System

Dr. Steve Charnovitz – GWU

Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jisun Kim – Peterson Institute

View the paper here.

This event was made possible by a generous grant from an anonymous donor. It is a discussion of the book Climate Change and the World Trading System, co-authored with Cary Clyde and Jisun Kim (Peterson Institute).

Friday, September 18, 2009

12:00 to 2:00pm

 

Suite 601M
1957 E St NW
Washington, DC 20052

Antidumping Use Across the World

Implications for Developing Countries and U.S. Businesses

Thursday and Friday, April 9 & 10, 2009

8:00 – 3:00 PM (Thursday), 8:00 – 1:30 PM (Friday)

Lindner Commons, Suite 602
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

Thursday, April 9, 2009

 

8:00 – 8:45 AM – Continental breakfast

 

8:45 – 9:45 AM – Tom Prusa (Rutgers and NBER) – Trade Liberalization, Tariff Overhang and Antidumping Filing in Developing Countries”
Discussant: Michael Moore (GWU-IIEP)

 

9:45 – 10:45 AM – Maurizio Zanardi (ULB-ECARES): “Trade Liberalization and Antidumping in Developing Countries: Is There a Substitution Effect?”
Discussant: Rod Ludema (Georgetown)

 

10:45 – 11:00 AM – Coffee Break

 

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Kara Reynolds (American): “Overcoming Free-Riding: A Cross-Country Analysis of Firm Participation in Antidumping Petitions” 
Discussant: Judith Dean (USITC)

 

12:00 – 1:00 PM – Lunch

 

1:00 – 2:00 PM – Chad Bown (Brandeis)
Discussant: Bob Feinberg (American)

 

2:00 – 3:00 PM – Justin Pierce (Georgetown): “Plant Level Responses to Antidumping Duties: Evidence from U.S. Manufacturers” 
Discussant: Maggie Chen (GWU-IIEP)

==============================================

Friday, April 10, 2009

 

“Expanding Use of Antidumping and Prospects for Reform”

 

8:00 – 9:00 AM – Continental breakfast

 

9:00 – 10:00 AM – Global Antidumping Use and Implications for Developing Countries
Chad Bown (Brandeis)
Maurizio Zanardi (ULB-ECARES)
Jorge Miranda (King and Spaulding)

 

10:00 – 11:00 AM – Basic Concepts of Antidumping
Tom Prusa (Rutgers and NBER) – Economists’ Views
Matt Nolan (Arent Fox) – Lawyers’ views
Stephen Claeys (former Dep. Asst. Sec. for Import Administration) – Administrators’ views

 

11:00 – 11:15 AM – Coffee Break

 

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM – Reforming Antidumping
Michael Moore (GWU-IIEP) – Economists’ views
Jim Durling (Winston and Strawn) – Respondent Lawyers’ views
Stephen Jones (King and Spaulding) – Petitioner Lawyers’ views

 

12:15 – 1:30 PM – Lunch and Keynote Address
Grant Aldonas (former Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade)
“Trade Remedies’ Impact on U.S. Commercial Policy”

NAFTA at 15

Assessing the Past and Preparing for the Future

Friday, March 27, 2009

Lindner Commons, Suite 602
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

8:30 – 9:20 AM Continental breakfast

 

9:20 – 9:30 AM
Introductory Remarks: Michael Moore (GWU-IIEP)

 

9:30 – 10:45 AM – NAFTA’s Origins and Impact on the U.S. and Canada
Moderator: Steve Suranovic (GWU-IIEP)
Sidney Weintraub (Center for Strategic and International Studies): Origins of North American Integration
Gary Hufbauer (Peterson Institute): NAFTA and the U.S.
Richard Harris (Simon Fraser University): NAFTA and Canada

 

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM – Impact on Mexico
Moderator: Cynthia McClintock (GWU-LAHSP)
Nora Lustig (GWU-IIEP): Growth, Inequality and Poverty in Post-NAFTA Mexico
Eric Verhoogen (Columbia University): Impact on Mexican Firms
Phil Martin (University of California – Davis): Immigration flows under NAFTA

 

12:00 – 12:45 PM – Remarks on “The Future of NAFTA” by Jaime Serra (former Mexican chief negotiator for NAFTA)

 

12:45 – 1:45 PM – Lunch

1:45 – 3:00 PM – What’s Next for North American Integration? Views from the Academy
Moderator: Nora Lustig (GWU-IIEP)
Robert Pastor (American University)
Gustavo Vega (El Colegio de Mexico) PowerPoint
John Curtis (Centre for International Governance Innovation)

 

3:00 – 3:15 PM – Coffee Break

 

3:15 – 4:30 PM – North American Governments’ Priorities
Moderator: Michael Moore (GWU-IIEP)
Grant Aldonas (former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade)
Beatriz Leycegui (Mexican Undersecretary of Economy for International Trade Negotiations) PowerPoint
Susan Harper (Economic Minister for the Embassy of Canada)

The U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement: Implementation and Impact

Alvaro Henzler (Economic Advisor to the Ambassador of Peru, professor at Georgetown University and Universidad del Pacifico)
Carlos Mateo Paz-Soldan (DTB Associates)
José Raul Perales (Senior Program Associate for Latin America at the Woodrow Wilson Center)

Joint with the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program

Thursday, October 30, 2008

12:00 pm – 1:45 pm

 

Duques Hall Suite 451
2201 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052

Trade and the Hill: What to Expect Post-Election

Eric Euland – The Duberstein Group; former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R., Tennessee)
David Castagnetti – Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, Inc.; former chief of staff to both Senator Max Baucus (D., Montana) and former Rep. Norman Mineta (D., California)
Jennifer Mulveny – Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg; former deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for congressional affairs under President George W. Bush, and Republican professional staff, House Ways and Means Committee
Steve Champlin – Vice President of the Duberstein Group, and former Executive Director of the House Democratic Caucus

Joint with the Consumers for World Trade Education Fund
This is a U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

12:00 to 2:00pm

 

Lindner Commons, Suite 602
1957 E St., NW
Washington, DC 20052