Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), formerly Brookings India, hosted the Flagship seminar with Anne Krueger, Senior Research Professor of International Economics at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, on her  book, “International Trade: What Everyone Needs to Know.”

After almost 70 years of increasingly open trade, the system has come under threat in recent years. Anne Krueger’s timely book provides a comprehensive introduction to the complexities of international trade, its past, present and future. It explores contemporary issues such as Brexit and its implications, developments with the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, functions of the World Trade Organisation, and China’s changing role as a player in international trade.

With the ongoing trade tensions among the leading economic powers in the world, the weakening of the WTO, signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in Asia, the presidential transition in the United States, and India’s own new ambivalence towards trade, this was an opportune time to lead a discussion on this vital issue.

About the Author
Known widely in the fields of macroeconomics and trade, Anne Krueger is a former president of the American Economic Association and has served as the World Bank’s Chief Economist and the first Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. Her association with India spans over four decades and has affected a range of scholarly papers on Indian economic policy. Subsequent to the initiation of economic reforms in India in 1990s, she curated the annual conference on India at Stanford University in 1998.

Panelists

Ernesto Zedillo is Professor in the Field of International Economics and Politics and Director of the Centre for the Study of Globalization at Yale University. He served as President of Mexico from 1994 to 2000, during which time his economic policies enabled Mexico to get out of an economic crisis and regain growth. Prior to winning the Mexican Presidency he served in a senior capacity in the Central Bank, as Secretary of Programming and the Budget and Secretary of Education. Since leaving office his has been a prominent voice on globalization, including its impact on development, multilateral trade, and the provision of key global goods.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia has been a leading figure in Indian economic policy since the early 1980s, Montek Singh Ahluwalia was the Finance Secretary in the Government of India in the 1990s, and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission from 2004 to 2010. He was also the first Director of the Independent Evaluation Office, International Monetary Fund. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award for public service. His most recent book is Back Stage: The Story Behind India’s High Growth Years.

Douglas Irwin is currently the John French Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, Irwin is a noted authority on the trade policy of the United States and has worked on trade policy issues while on the staff of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers. His most recent books include Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy (2018), and Free Trade Under Fire, (2015).

Moderator: Rakesh Mohan is President & Distinguished Fellow at CSEP. He was Professor in the Practice of International Economics at the School of Management and Senior Fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University. He has been closely associated with the Indian economic reforms process from the late 1980s.He was Executive Director on the Board of the International Monetary Fund, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Secretary, Economic Affairs, and Chief Economic Adviser of the Indian Ministry of Finance, and Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Industry. His most recent book (edited) is “India Transformed: 25 Years of Economic Reforms”.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.