January 31, 2011 View this newsletter as a web page on CFR's website. Innovation In his new book, Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge, CFR Senior Fellow Adam Segal analyzes Asia's technological rise, questions assumptions about American decline, and explains how the United States can preserve and improve its position in the global economy by optimizing its strength of moving ideas from the lab to the marketplace. Podcast: Maintaining an American Lead in Technology U.S. Debt Roger C. Altman and Richard N. Haass argue that if U.S. leaders do not rein in government debt, global financial markets will ultimately force a solution. The result would be an age of American austerity that shrinks America's global role and leads to a less safe and less free world. CFR Co-Chairman Robert E. Rubin writes that if we don't make tough decisions on deficit reduction now, we will be forced to act more harshly and with less time to thoughtfully set priorities in the future. Sebastian Mallaby says that in the State of the Union President Obama was too optimistic that he can achieve new public investments and deficit reduction at the same time. He will have to choose between the two. Peter R. Orszag warns that it may take a crisis to get U.S. policymakers to address the unsustainability of the federal government's fiscal trajectory. Video, Transcript: 1/18 "American Power and Profligacy" with Roger Altman, Michael Mandelbaum, and George Stephanopoulos Analysis: A Looming Debt Limit Crisis European Crisis Benn Steil's January column in Dow Jones' Financial News, coauthored with Paul Swartz, argues that the German-led Irish bailout is floundering because the Irish public balance sheet cannot absorb further Irish bank debt. Until the inevitable losses on this debt are finally allocated, largely to other European banks, investors will remain wary of Ireland. Geo-Graphics: Sovereign Credibility and Bank Runs Analysis: The Eurozone's Next Crisis U.S.-China Michael A. Levi writes that the myth that China is crushing the United States in a clean energy race is dangerous. Unwarranted fears of a clean energy competition threaten to spur a protectionist wave in the United States while squelching cooperation between the two countries. Expert Brief: U.S.-China Exchange Rate Thicket Geo-Graphics: It's (Almost) All Good on U.S. Trade Imbalances–China Remains Exception Central Banking Benn Steil's op-ed for Project Syndicate argues that the United States and Europe are putting the credibility of the Fed and the ECB at risk by relying on extraordinary central bank interventions as a substitute for resolving the bad assets that are dragging down private sector banks. Amity Shlaes says that to promote growth the Federal Reserve must narrow its discretion and instead follow a rules-based policy. Video, Audio: 1/10 "What Sort of Fed Do We Want?" with Alan S. Blinder, John Taylor, and David Wessel Backgrounder: Debating a New Role for the Fed   CGS Website For the latest from the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, visit the CGS webpage at www.cfr.org/cgs.     Must Reads Matthew J. Slaughter argues that to help create good jobs companies must be free to invest where they are most productive. Sebastian Mallaby says that investment banks are rife with potential conflicts–first between their trading and that of their clients, and second between various classes of customer. Jagdish N. Bhagwati writes that the economic crisis may, accidentally, establish a pro-globalization consensus that spans East and West. Max Boot argues that plans for further cuts in defense spending will have detrimental effects on the international security commitments of the United States. Isobel Coleman and Charles Landow discuss how lack of good governance in Africa condemns millions to poverty.     Meetings Video: 1/24 "Charter Cities: New Options for the Bottom Billion" with Paul Romer Video, Transcript: 1/21 "A Conversation with Lael Brainard" Audio, Transcript: 1/14 "Fostering Development in an Era of Constrained Resources" with Jose W. Fernandez Video: 1/6 "A Conversation with Frederick W. Smith"     Chart Books Foreign Ownership of U.S. Assets Economic Recovery Foreign Exchange Reserves in the BRICs     News from CFR.org Podcast: Will the Volcker Rule Work? Issue Guide: State of the Union Interview: Military-Industrial Complex, Fifty Years On Backgrounder: U.S. Deepwater Drilling's Future     About the CGS The Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies (CGS) works to promote a better understanding among policymakers, scholars, journalists, and the public about how economic and political forces interact to influence world affairs. Sebastian Mallaby, Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow Caroline Atkinson, Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Senior Fellow for International Economics James P. Dougherty, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Business and Foreign Policy Steven Dunaway, Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics Michael Hodin, Adjunct Senior Fellow Michael A. Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment Peter R. Orszag, Adjunct Senior Fellow Amity Shlaes, Senior Fellow for Economic History Matthew J. Slaughter, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Business and Globalization Benn Steil, Director of International Economics Francis E. Warnock, Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Finance EXPLORE CFR's WEBSITE:     Regions      Issues      Experts     Publications     About CFR Find CFR on Twitter and Facebook. Was this message forwarded from a friend? To subscribe, please visit http://www.cfr.org/about/newsletters.html and select "This Month in Geoeconomics." Privacy Policy The Council on Foreign Relations does not share email addresses with third parties. Council on Foreign Relations 58 East 68th Street New York, NY 10065 Tel. +1 212.434.9400 Fax: +1 212.434.9800