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Benjamin J. Cohen

Benjamin J. Cohen

15 commentaries

Benjamin J. Cohen, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Political Economy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is the author of Currency Statecraft: Monetary Rivalry and Geopolitical Ambition.

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  1. The Bonfire of the Currencies?
    op_bjcohen2_Martin PooleGetty Images_usdfire Martin Poole/Getty Images

    The Bonfire of the Currencies?

    Oct 29, 2021 Benjamin J. Cohen reviews books by two leading economists on what the future holds for currencies and payment systems.

  2. The Pandemic Is Shaking the Dollar’s Supremacy
    bjcohen13_ANTHONY WALLACEAFP via Getty Images_tornUSDdollar Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

    The Pandemic Is Shaking the Dollar’s Supremacy

    May 18, 2020 Benjamin J. Cohen suggests that escalating US leadership failures will further erode the greenback's global standing.

  3. Can America and China Avoid a Currency War?
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    Can America and China Avoid a Currency War?

    Aug 8, 2019 Benjamin J. Cohen holds out hope that the world’s two largest economies may yet achieve some form of exchange-rate détente.

  4. The Case for a Fiscal Fed
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    The Case for a Fiscal Fed

    Jul 19, 2019 Benjamin J. Cohen proposes a new independent agency to supplement monetary-policy responses to macroeconomic fluctuations.

  5. Where Have All the Safe Havens Gone?
    man at porthole piola666/Getty Images

    Where Have All the Safe Havens Gone?

    Jan 7, 2019 Benjamin J. Cohen expects lost faith in the US dollar and economic troubles elsewhere to lead to even more market volatility.

  1. bp industrial policy Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
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    Industrial Policy Is Back

    From semiconductors to electric vehicles, governments are identifying the strategic industries of the future and intervening to support them – abandoning decades of neoliberal orthodoxy in the process. Are industrial policies the key to tackling twenty-first-century economic challenges or a recipe for market distortions and lower efficiency?

  2. fischer208_DrAfter123Getty Images_AIhuman DrAfter123/Getty Images
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    Is AI a Master or Slave?

    Joschka Fischer wonders whether humanity can even hope to maintain control in an era of “mega-crisis.”
  3. haldar25_BettmannGetty Images_friedmanreagan Bettmann/Getty Images
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    Laying Chicago Economics to Rest

    Antara Haldar

    From breakthroughs in behavioral economics to mounting evidence in the real world, there is good reason to think that the economic orthodoxy of the past 50 years now has one foot in the grave. The question is whether the mainstream economics profession has gotten the memo.

     looks back on 50 years of neoclassical economic orthodoxy and the damage it has wrought.
  4. delong254_ Samuel CorumGetty Images_january6riot Samuel Corum/Getty Images
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    America’s Broken Civic Bargain

    J. Bradford DeLong worries that Republicans have abandoned one of the core principles that sustains a democracy over time.
  5. deshpande1_Frédéric SoltanCorbis via Getty Images_university india Frédéric Soltan/Corbis via Getty Images
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    Affirmative Action Under Siege

    Ashwini Deshpande shows how the supreme courts in India and the US have undermined efforts to address serious discrimination.
  6. dahn1_Mark WilsonGetty Images_USfederalreserve Mark Wilson/Getty Images
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    Is the Fed’s Negative Capital a Problem?

    Willem H. Buiter thinks not, but recommends a reform designed to ensure that it does not become one in the future.
  7. patten158_JUSTIN TALLISAFP via Getty Images_brexit Carl Court/Getty Images
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    Internet Scammers and Political Tricksters

    Chris Patten highlights the link between rampant online fraud and the invulnerability of contemporary demagogues.
  8. roach157_CFOTOFuture Publishing via Getty Images_mate60 pro CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
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    American Tactics vs. Chinese Strategy

    Stephen S. Roach

    For decades, US policymakers have preferred piecemeal tactical actions, while the Chinese government has consistently taken a more strategic approach. This mismatch is the reason why Huawei, to the shock of sanctions-focused American officials, was able to make a processor breakthrough in its flagship smartphone.

     warns that short-termism will never be enough to offset the long-term benefits of strategic thinking.
  9. sierakowski101_Beata ZawrzelNurPhoto via Getty Images_pis visa Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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    Will a Visa Scandal Sink Poland’s Populists?

    Sławomir Sierakowski wonders whether the ruling party’s base will hear or care about the most recent example of its hypocrisy.

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