Clark Center Forum

Over the last few months, On Global Markets has repeatedly warned about the real economic costs of elevated levels of economic policy uncertainty. But, it seems that greater certainty on the shape of Donald Trump’s trade policy has brought its own challenges. The President’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’ reciprocal tariffs went a lot further than just […] 

Driving safely requires an accurate speedometer. Knowing when to press on the brakes and when to push down on the accelerator is much trickier if a driver is not really sure exactly how quickly they are currently travelling. Much the same can be said when it comes to economic policymaking; reliable, timely and reasonably accurate […] 

This US survey examines (a) The termination of the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Council and shrinking staff at the core US statistical agencies will lead to a substantial reduction in the reliability of government economic data; (b) The quality of economic policy-making will be substantially impaired by reduced funding for the core US statistical agencies; (c) The ability of businesses to forecast and plan will be substantially impaired by lower quality economic data 

This Finance survey examines: A bipartisan bill to cap credit card interest rates at 10% has been introduced recently in the House and the Senate: https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/media/press-releases/ocasio-cortez-luna-introduce-bill-cap-credit-card-interest-rates-10; (a) Capping credit card interest rates at 10% would make most users measurably better off; (b) Capping credit card interest rates at 10% would lead to a substantial reduction in access to credit for low-income borrowers 

When it comes to American economic policy, the word of the year may well end up being ‘tariff’. So far President Trump’s programme of on-again, off-again tariffs and threatened protectionist measures have dominated news coverage and driven moves in asset markets. But if ‘tariff’ has a contender it will likely be ‘uncertainty’. Levels of policy […] 

This installment of the FTxBooth US Macroeconomists Survey discusses the potential effects of President Trump’s economic policies as well as the consequences of federal data gathering and management. The summary results are below and you can read the Financial Times article here, subscription required. View the results of this survey>> For social media: Please use […] 

The idea of “infrastructure week” became a reasonably popular joke amongst journalists and commentators during President Trump’s first term. As CNN explained at the time, the idea came from the administration’s frequent announcements that in a given week, the focus would be on infrastructure only for it to then get blown off course by some […] 

This Finance survey examines: If the White House exerts more direct influence over the decisions of the financial regulatory agencies, that would substantially enhance financial stability 

This US survey examines (a) Matching US import tariffs to the tariffs, value-added taxes and non-tariff barriers imposed on US goods by other countries would substantially reduce the US trade deficit; (b) The threat of retaliation against the imposition of higher tariffs on a country’s exports substantially lowers the probability of a trade war; (c) In the event that the threat of retaliation does not deter the imposition of tariffs, the economies of countries subject to higher tariffs on their exports would be measurably better off by responding with targeted tariffs on imports from the first mover 

This European survey examines (a) Matching US import tariffs to the tariffs, value-added taxes and non-tariff barriers imposed on US goods by other countries would substantially reduce the US trade deficit; (b) The threat of retaliation against the imposition of higher tariffs on a country’s exports substantially lowers the probability of a trade war; (c) In the event that the threat of retaliation does not deter the imposition of tariffs, the economies of countries subject to higher tariffs on their exports would be measurably better off by responding with targeted tariffs on imports from the first mover