Peterson Institute Press Room

Media Advisory: The Euro: A Stable Currency without a State

WHO:	C. Fred Bergsten Director, PIIE Otmar Issing Former ECB Chief Economist and Advisor to German Chancellor Merkel
WHAT:	Event: Remarks on the Euro as a Stable Currency without a State
WHEN:	Tuesday, November 18, Noon—2:00 PM (Lunch at noon, program at 12:30)
WHERE:	C. Fred Bergsten Conference Center Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics 1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 (Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle, south exit.)
RSVP:	Katharine Keenan, Media Relations Manager 202.454.1334 Note: This meeting is open to all press but by invitation only to the general public.

Otmar Issing will deliver the Sixth Annual Whitman Lecture at PIIE on Tuesday, November 18. Dr. Issing will address "The Euro: A Stable Currency without a State" based on his new book. In the words of current ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, Issing "was an exceptional and decisive actor in the making of the euro, first as the chief economist and member of the Directorate of the Deutsche Bundesbank and then as the chief economist and member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank." Those and a long list of other credentials prompted Chancellor Merkel to appoint Issing to chair a panel whose conclusions were presented at the recent G-20 summit in Washington. Among recommendations offered by the panel were a worldwide loan registry and a restructuring of incentives at financial institutions to avoid the short-term performance bonuses viewed to be a factor in the financial crisis.

Following his initial presentation, Dr. Issing will take questions from the audience.

Katharine Keenan
Media Relations Manager, PIIE
Ofc: 202-454-1334 | Cell: 202-553-9018

About Otmar Issing

Dr. Otmar Issing was most recently a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, from its inception in June 1998 until May 2006, with responsibility for the Directorates of General Economics and Research. Prior to that, he was a member of the Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank with a seat on the Central Bank Council from 1990 until 1998. He is now Chairman of the Advisory Board of the House of Finance at Frankfurt University and President of the Center for Financial Studies. In addition to several books, he has published numerous articles in scientific journals and periodicals. His latest book is "The Birth of the Euro."

About the Whitman Lecture Series

Robert and Marina Whitman created the Whitman Lecture series in 2001. Marina Whitman is Professor of Business Administration and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Previously, she served as Vice President and Group Executive for Public Affairs at General Motors, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers and as Distinguished Public Service Professor of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh. She has been a member of the Institute's Board of Directors for many years. Robert Whitman is Professor Emeritus of English Literature at the University of Pittsburgh. Past Whitman Lectures were presented by Martin Wolf, Mario Monti, Noboru Hatakeyama, Assar Lindbeck and Joaquín Almunia.

Top Korean Presidential Advisor Offers Perspective on G-20 Summit

WHO:	C. Fred Bergsten Director, (Peterson Institute for International Economics) Il SaKong (Special Economic Advisor to President Lee Myung-bak of Korea and Chairman, President Lee's National Competitiveness Council)
WHAT:	Remarks on G-20 Summit
WHEN:	Monday, November 17, Noon—2:00 PM (Lunch at noon, program at 12:30)
WHERE:	C. Fred Bergsten Conference Center Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics 1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 (Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle, south exit.)
RSVP:	Katharine Keenan, Media Relations Manager 202.454.1334 Note: This meeting is open to all press but by invitation only to the general public.

Special Economic Advisor to President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea, Dr. Il SaKo ng, will address a luncheon hosted by PIIE on Monday, November 17. Dr. SaKong accompanied President Lee to the G-20 summit held here in Washington on November 14–15. He will provide an insider's view on the outcome of the summit from the perspective of a struggling emerging market economy. He will speak to future plans of the G-20, including reforms in the international financial architecture. Dr. SaKong will also discuss the impact of the current crisis on Korea and the results of its policy responses to date.

In addition to his role as Special Economic Advisor, Dr. SaKong is Chairman of President Lee's National Competitiveness Council. The Council is a permanent organization in the President's Office that holds monthly meetings with the President to address major regulatory reforms, privatization, public sector structural adjustments and other key policy issues.

Following his initial presentation, Dr. SaKong will take questions from the audience.

About Dr. Il SaKong

Dr. Il SaKong is the leading economic advisor to President Lee. He was formerly Minister of Finance (1987–88) and Senior Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs (1983–87). Dr. SaKong played the leading role in framing and implementing Korea's very successful development strategy and economic policies in the 1980s. Since then, he has been Chairman and CEO of the Institute for Global Economics in Seoul and Korea's Ambassador for International Economy and Trade (2000–2002). He chaired the ASEM Vision Group, established at the Asia Europe summit in 1998, and the Emerging Markets Eminent Persons Group for reforming the international monetary system (2000–2001). He also authored the major study, Korea in the World Economy (Institute for International Economics, 1993).

PIIE Installs TV Studio

WASHINGTON, November 3, 2008—The media have relied on the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) as a trusted source of nonpartisan insight and analysis from some of the most highly respected economists in the world for over 25 years. Now PIIE is pleased to announce that its experts are more accessible than ever before with the installation of a VideoLink ReadyCam TV insert studio.

Among the PIIE experts available for interviews are:

C. Fred Bergsten, Director: Most widely quoted think tank economist (The International Economy). Vast area of expertise includes US economic policy and world economy, the dollar and exchange rates, East Asian integration/cooperation, globalization, international economic policy coordination, trade policy, and free trade agreements (FTAs).
Adam S. Posen, Deputy Director: Advisor to central banks worldwide and coauthor with Ben Bernanke of Inflation Targeting. Focuses on bubbles and deflation, the euro and European Union, fiscal policy, Germany, inflation, Japan, monetary policy, transatlantic relations, and US-Japan relations.
Anders Åslund, Senior Fellow: The West's leading expert on the Russian economy. Covers Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and transition economies more generally.
Morris Goldstein, Senior Fellow: Father of first international banking standard and author of 10-point plan for financial regulatory reform [pdf] in response to current turmoil. Expert on financial crises, international banking, debt, emerging market finance, and the IMF.
Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Senior Fellow: Unique combined expertise in taxation and trade and international law. Cutting edge researcher on climate change and the international trading regime. Covers Canada, Doha Round, exports, Mexico, multinational corporations, NAFTA, sanctions, tax policy, telecommunications, trade policy, and WTO.
Simon Johnson, Senior Fellow: Former IMF chief economist focusing on capital flows, emerging markets, development and growth, entrepreneurship, exchange rates, financial crises, foreign economic policy, IMF, international monetary systems, macroeconomic policy, sovereign wealth funds, and transition economies.
Nicholas R. Lardy, Senior Fellow: "Everybody's guru on China" (National Journal), covers both domestic and international aspects, including Chinese exchange rate policy and US-China relations. Also focuses on Asia and transition economies.
Michael Mussa, Senior Fellow: Former IMF chief economist, member of Council of Economic Advisors, and noted University of Chicago Professor. Definitive opinionated source on the economic outlook and forecasting, financial crises, fiscal policy, IMF, international finance, international monetary systems, macroeconomic policy, and US economic policy.
Marcus Noland, Senior Fellow: World's leading expert on the North Korean economy and Korean unification issues. Also Africa, ASEAN, Asia, Japan, Middle East, and trade policy.
Jeffrey J. Schott, Senior Fellow: Longtime advisor to successive USTR and WTO leaderships. Expert on agricultural trade, Canada, Doha Round, economic sanctions, energy, FTAs, Latin America, Mexico, NAFTA, regional economic arrangements, US trade policy, and WTO.
Arvind Subramanian, Senior Fellow: Widely read columnist in India and frequent contributor to the Financial Times. Covers development, foreign aid, India, intellectual property rights, trade, and WTO.
Edwin M. Truman, Senior Fellow: Former head of international finance at both US Treasury and Federal Reserve. Expert on capital markets, central banking, corruption and money laundering, exchange rates, financial crises, G-7/8, international monetary systems, Latin America, monetary policy, reserve diversification, sovereign wealth funds, and US economic policy.
Complete list of experts

To book a guest, please contact Katharine Keenan, Media Relations Manager at (202) 454-1334 or studio@petersoninstitute.org. To book a live shot, call VideoLink's Main Operations Line at (617) 340-4300.

Media Advisory: Daniel K. Tarullo to Discuss the Future of Financial Regulation

WHO:	Daniel K. Tarullo, Georgetown University Law Center
WHAT:	Book Release: Banking on Basel: The Future of Financial Regulation
WHEN:	Thursday, October 23, Noon–2:00 PM (Lunch at noon, program at 12:30)
WHERE:	C. Fred Bergsten Conference Center Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics 1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 (Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle, south exit.)
RSVP:	Katharine Keenan, Press Liaison 202.454.1334 Note: This meeting is open to all press but by invitation only to the general public.

The current turmoil in financial markets signals the need to dramatically transform regulation and supervision of financial institutions, including at the international level. The issue of international cooperation is especially important in light of the Bush-Sarkozy agreement to hold a global financial summit, being hailed as a Bretton Woods II, the merits of which are currently being debated.

The central question Daniel Tarullo's new book, Banking on Basel: The Future of Financial Regulation, addresses is whether financial institutions would have been sounder if the 2004 Revised Framework on International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards (Basel II accord)—negotiated between 1999 and 2004—had been fully implemented. Could the crisis have been prevented? Has it revealed a need for further (or even fundamentally different) strategies for capital regulation? Mr. Tarullo will address these questions in his initial presentation and then take questions from the audience.

Media Advisory: Strauss-Kahn to Speak on Financial Crisis at Euro Conference

WHO:	CO-HOSTS C. Fred Bergsten (Peterson Institute) Jean Pisani-Ferry (Bruegel) FEATURED SPEAKERS Dominique Strauss-Kahn (IMF) Joaquin Almunia (EU) Lorenzo Bini Smaghi (ECB) Christian Noyer (Banque de France, ECB)
WHAT:	Conference on "The Euro at 10: The Next Global Currency?"
WHEN:	Friday, October 10, 8:00 AM–6:00 PM (Registration opens at 8:00, program at 8:30)
WHERE:	C. Fred Bergsten Conference Center Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics 1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 (Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle, south exit.)
RSVP:	Katharine Keenan, Press Liaison 202.454.1334 Note: This meeting is open to all press but by invitation only to the general public.

This Friday, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan will give his first major public speech surrounding the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings at a conference co-hosted by PIIE and Brussels-based think tank Bruegel. He will speak on the euro, the international monetary system and the global financial crisis.

With the nexus of the current financial turmoil in the United States, is the present crisis the moment for the euro to displace the dollar? Will this time of uncertainty and failure in US markets be the critical transition point for the euro to parity in status with the dollar, ultimately leading to its becoming the dominant global currency? Or have recent failures in Europe eclipsed that possibility? In addition to Strauss-Khan's remarks, we will have a world-class lineup of notable economists and policymakers including Leszek Balcerowicz, Fred Bergsten, Kristin Forbes, Linda Goldberg, Mohsin Khan, Erkki Liikanen, Thomas Mayer, Jean Pisani-Ferry, Adam Posen, and Gyorgy Szapary to shed light on these and other important questions.

Media Advisory: Discussion on the Financial Crisis

WHO:	C. Fred Bergsten (Peterson Institute) Morris Goldstein (Peterson Institute) Simon Johnson (Peterson Institute and MIT) Michael Mussa (Peterson Institute) Adam S. Posen (Peterson Institute)
WHAT:	Presentation by Morris Goldstein Followed by Panel Discussion on the Financial Crisis
WHEN:	Tuesday, October 7, Noon–2:00 PM (Lunch at noon, program at 12:30)
WHERE:	C. Fred Bergsten Conference Center Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics 1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 (Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle, south exit.)
RSVP:	Katharine Keenan, Press Liaison 202.454.1334 Note: This meeting is open to all press but by invitation only to the general public.

Morris Goldstein, who anticipated many of the recent policy reactions to the financial crisis in an Institute presentation last April, will present his diagnosis of the current situation in light of the House and Senate passage of the bailout package. He will offer a proposal for responding to it via a ten-part regulatory reform plan. A former Deputy Director of Research at the IMF, Dr. Goldstein has been responsible for a wide range of innovative proposals, including the international banking standard adopted in the wake of the Asian financial crisis and a new system of early warning indicators to anticipate future crises. In a Financial Times op-ed titled "A Proposal to Improve Regulatory Liquidity," he made the original proposal for a liquidity pool among the world's major private financial institutions that has now been adopted as part of the response to the global crisis.

Following his initial presentation, Dr. Goldstein will be joined by a panel of Institute experts including Fred Bergsten, Simon Johnson, Michael Mussa and Adam Posen. The panelists will address all aspects (global as well as domestic) of the financial crisis. They will take questions from the audience on the whole range of issues surrounding the bailout and where we go from here.

Media Advisory: Zoellick to Speak on Fighting Poverty at a Time of Global Economic Crisis

WHO:	Robert Zoellick President, World Bank Group
WHAT:	Remarks on the Implications of the Financial Crisis for Developing Countries
WHEN:	Monday, October 6, Noon–2:00 PM (Lunch at noon, program at 12:30)
WHERE:	C. Fred Bergsten Conference Center Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics 1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 (Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle, south exit.)
RSVP:	Katharine Keenan, Press Liaison 202.454.1334 Note: This meeting is open to all press but by invitation only to the general public.

Upheavals in the financial markets, signs of global economic slowdown, and high food and commodity prices are heightening concerns about the world's poorest billion people. These developments present major challenges for international aid institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. To shed some light on these concerns, World Bank President Robert Zoellick will speak on combating poverty at a time of global financial crisis, previewing the agenda he will present at the annual meetings of the Bank and IMF.

Following his initial presentation, Mr. Zoellick will take questions from the audience.

News Release: Former IMF Economic Counsellor Simon Johnson Joins Peterson Institute as Senior Fellow

WASHINGTON—The Peterson Institute for International Economics announced today that Simon Johnson, formerly the International Monetary Fund's Economic Counsellor (chief economist) and Director of its Research Department, has joined its staff as a Senior Fellow. Dr. Johnson will focus on the linkages between emerging markets and the global economy.

At the IMF, Dr. Johnson helped formulate innovative responses to worldwide financial turmoil and led the world economic outlook team. He was among the first to propose new forms of international engagement for sovereign wealth funds. "Simon Johnson is one of the world's leading experts on economic crises and how to escape from them," said Institute Director C. Fred Bergsten. "His insights into the governance of financial institutions are particularly relevant at this time."

For over 20 years, Dr. Johnson has helped develop practical strategies for dealing with major economic disruptions in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, East Asia, and Latin America. His current research examines how policymakers can mitigate the impact of negative shocks, manage the risks faced by their countries, and sustain growth.

Dr. Johnson's work also examines how institutions affect the ups and downs of economic development. His book, Starting Over in Eastern Europe, stressed the importance of the private sector in the East European post–communist recovery. He has written articles on the causes of crises, longer–run growth, the underground economy, the design of corporate governance institutions, the importance of property rights for private sector development, and the role of public health improvements in economic growth. A key finding of his research is that corporate governance is important not only to protect shareholders and creditors, but also because it affects the overall stability of the economy.

"The Peterson Institute has long been at the forefront of analysis regarding the global economy and where it is heading," said Johnson. "At this difficult juncture in global credit and commodity markets, I look forward to working with such an outstanding group of colleagues on practical policies to reduce the risks of both global and national crises."

In addition to his role at the Institute, Dr. Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at MIT's Sloan School of Management, a position he has held since 2004. His previous appointments include Assistant Director in the IMF's Research Department (2004–06) and visiting fellow at the Institute (2006–07).