How Resilient is the Global Economy?

With oil prices continuing to drop and China attempting to manage its economic slowdown, the US stock market and markets around the world have been jolted in recent weeks. And it’s not as if problems and weaknesses didn’t already exists. We asked two of the Wilson Center’s top economics experts to help us understand the current climate and to provide thoughts on just how resilient the global economy is as it’s tested on multiple fronts. That’s the focus of this edition of Wilson Center NOW. Guests Meg Lundsager is a Wilson Center Public Policy Fellow who consults on international economic, financial, and regulatory issues. While United States’ Executive Director on the International Monetary Fund Executive Board (2007-2014), she focused on achieving effective IMF input into lending programs in Europe, securing adequate IMF resources, supporting low income countries, and strengthening IMF oversight of exchange rate policies. She negotiated increased emerging market representation at the IMF and promoted enhanced ethical standards and internal oversight functions. As Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade and Investment at the US Treasury Department (1996-2000), she negotiated multilateral financial services agreements and aspects of China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. She also analyzed portfolio allocation decisions of institutional investors as an Atlantic Fellow in London. She has a Masters in International Economics from the University of Maryland and a BA from American University. Kent H. Hughes is the former Director of the Program on America and the Global Economy (PAGE) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. As part of the PAGE agenda, he published a book, Building the Next American Century: The Past and Future of American Economic Competitiveness (Wilson Center Press 2005), which emphasizes the importance of innovation and education to America’s future. Prior to joining the Center, Dr. Hughes served as Associate Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce, president of the private sector Council on Competitiveness, and in a number of senior positions with the U.S. Congress. Prior to his congressional service, Dr. Hughes served as a staff attorney for the Urban Law Institute. He was also an International Legal Center Fellow and Latin American Teaching Fellow in Brazil where he worked on a reform of Brazilian legal education. Dr. Hughes holds a Ph.D. in economics from Washington University, a LL.B. from Harvard Law School, and a B.A in Political and Economic Institutions from Yale University. He serves on the Executive Advisory Board of FIRST Robotics and is a member of the D.C. Bar, American Bar Association and the American Economic Association. Host John Milewski is the executive producer and managing editor of Wilson Center NOW and also serves as director of Wilson Center ON DEMAND digital programming. Previously he served as host and producer of Dialogue at the Wilson Center and Close Up on C-SPAN. He also teaches a course on politics and media for Penn State’s Washington Program.