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SIPA Students Propose International Monetary Reforms at Paris Conference
Five SIPA students participated in a global economic conference, "New World, New Capitalism," on January 6 and 7 in Paris and presented research on the international monetary system.
It was the third such gathering where European finance ministers and other international public officials discussed proposals for reforms in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Christopher Reim, a student in SIPA's Program in Economic Policy Management (PEPM ’11), presented the group's paper in brief on the final day of the conference. The paper, "Toward a More Stable Global Reserve System," argues that the International Monetary Fund should play a greater role in the global reserve system.
The other SIPA students at the conference were Mariam El Hamiani Khabat (PEPM '11), Vladimir Olarte Cadavid (MPA '12), Deepika Sharma (MPA '12) and Bill Papadakis (MIA '11). The diverse team brought together a variety of expertise in international finance, monetary policy and emerging markets.
The team’s paper notes that many governments currently hold large amounts of U.S. dollars to ensure the stability of their currencies. However, the global financial crisis has spurred calls for an alternative reserve currency. According to the paper, so-called Special Drawing Rights from the International Monetary Fund could serve this role — and resolve a growing point of contention between the U.S. and other major economies.
"We can stabilize global imbalances in part by fixing the way nations do reserves," Reim said.
The SIPA students were pleasantly surprised to hear finance ministers and other high-level speakers address the topic directly in a panel on reforming the international monetary system, according to Reim.
SIPA was one of four academic partners in the conference along with the London School of Economics and Political Science, Sciences Po and the American University in Cairo. SIPA professors Jeffrey Sachs and Joseph Stiglitz were among the conference's speakers.
Tim Shenk, February 2, 2011