January 27, 2009 Book Signing and Discussion at Busboys and Poets CEPR Co-Director Dean Baker discussed and signed copies of his new book, Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy.   Watch the video, which aired on CSPAN2's BookTV.

Read more...

 

January 17, 2009 Inauguration Weekend Advocacy Summit Dean Baker spoke at this grassroots summit, sponsored by DC for Obama and other progressive organizations.  The event was held at the Navy Memorial, located at 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, D.C.

Read more...

 

January 9, 2009 Beyond the Meltdown: Regulatory Reform of the Financial Sector In the wake of the Wall Street meltdown, financial re-regulation is high on the legislative calendar for 2009. The Consumer Education Foundation, Demos, and Essential Information hosted an exciting symposium about what needs to be done. It took place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. (CEPR Co-Director Dean Baker participated in Panel # 3, "Charting a New Course: Regulation and Restructuring after the Cataclysm").

 

December 11, 2008 Ecuador's Debt Audit: Implications in the Global Economic Crisis Minister of Economy and Finance of Ecuador, Maria Elsa Viteri, discussed the implications of the Ecuadorian debt situation in the context of the global economic crisis, including the negative impacts of deregulation of the financial markets and the lack of appropriate established international mechanisms for auditing developing country debt.

Read more...

 

December 10, 2008 Media Briefing: Ecuador's Debt Audit Ecuador will announce a decision on December 15, 2008 regarding debt payment on approximately $3.8 billion in foreign debt. This comes after a 30-day grace period in which debt payments were suspended based on serious irregularities in the country’s debt history detailed in a 172-page final report by an independent Public Credit Audit Commission. If Ecuador defaults, it will be the first Latin America country to do so since Argentina in 2002.

Read more...

 

November 23, 2008 IOUSA Screening CEPR Co-director Dean Baker and Diane Rogers, Chief Economist of the Concord Coalition, had a discussion on the views expressed in the film, IOUSA.

 

November 19, 2008 IOUSA Screening Dean Baker, Co-Director of CEPR, and Paul Cullinan, Research Director for Budgeting for National Priorities at the Brookings Institution, had a discussion after a screening of IOUSA.

 

November 18, 2008 Financial Turmoil and the "Solutions" -- Will it Help or Worsen the Effects on Developing Countries? World leaders of the G-20 gathered in Washington to discuss solutions to the global financial crisis. Although the crisis originated in the deregulated financial markets of the developed countries, the impacts of the crisis - both in the financial sector and in the real economy - are spreading globally, including to many countries of the global South. Will the "solutions" discussed at the G-20 meeting help or hurt developing countries? Panelists Martin Khor, Director of the Third World Network and Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of CEPR, discussed appropriate regulatory mechanisms that are needed to prevent another similar crisis, and steps governments can take to reduce the impacts in the real economy of the US recession on countries globally.

Read more...

 

November 13, 2008 Media Briefing: Economists Question IMF's 'Firefighting' Abilities in Current Economic Crisis As world leaders gathered in Washington this weekend for a summit to address the global economic crisis, the International Monetary Fund was being touted as a "financial firefighter." However, the IMF's track record of the last 30 years casts serious doubts on that institution's ability to contain the financial meltdown. Rather than dousing flames, the IMF's prescriptions have often poured gasoline on economic fires in emerging nations, crippling long-term development. Should the IMF be designated as the lender of last resort, it must overhaul the structural adjustment policies that prevent many nations from providing basic services for their people. CEPR Co-Director Mark Weisbrot joined Robert Weissman, Director of Essential Action, in a call with reporters that was moderated by Joanne Carter, Executive Director of the RESULTS Educational Fund.

Read more...

 

November 9, 2008 The Financial Crisis: How it Happened and What Needs to be Done Dean Baker of CEPR and Martin Silver of USAction presented on the financial crisis at this year's Green Festival in DC.