CONFERENCE

Ethics and Globalization: The Tradeoffs Underlying Our Policy Choices

Keynote address by the Honorable Barney Frank (D-MA)
Conference made possible by the generous support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and cosponsored by The New Republic

Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC

January 7, 2013

The Peterson Institute held a significant and path-breaking all-day conference on "Ethics and Globalization: The Tradeoffs Underlying Our Policy Choices" on January 7, 2013. The program featured a distinguished group of economists, philosophers, political scientists, and policymakers engaged in an interdisciplinary discussion of fundamental issues underlying economic policy decisions. Participants addressed the challenges of considering duties to domestic versus global welfare, balancing economic goals between generations, expecting ethical duties from private actors, and reconciling global governance and local accountability.

The Honorable Barney Frank (Congressman, D-MA, 1981–2012) delivered the keynote address, drawing insights from facing these choices during his 32-year career in Congress, up through his efforts to respond to the global financial crisis. World-renowned ethicists William Galston and Thomas Pogge discussed their views with current and former policymakers and scholars, including Anne Krueger, Danny Blanchflower, Michael Froman, Neil Howe, and Dani Rodrik, as well as PIIE's own William R. Cline, Howard F. Rosen, and Arvind Subramanian, among others [pdf].

The conference and associated research was made possible by the generous support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and was cosponsored by The New Republic.