November 24, 2008
Tim Geithner and Lawrence Summers – Good Picks for the U.S. and the World’s Poor
By Nancy Birdsall
We at CGD warmly welcome president-elect Barack Obama’s appointments of Timothy Geithner as Secretary of Treasury and Lawrence Summers to head the National Economic Council. Both are members of the CGD Board of Directors. This is no coincidence. It reflects the fact that both are tremendously knowledgeable about the problems and challenges faced by the world’s poor and are committed to policies to help address those problems — both in the interests of the poor in the developing world and of the United States itself. That can only be a good thing at a time when the U.S. economy hangs by a thread — and the thread is sustained and inclusive of growth in developing and emerging market economies such as China, India, and Brazil.
I worked for Larry Summers in the early 1990s, when he was World Bank chief economist and I was director of the policy research department. Among other contributions, he was an early champion of the then-new idea that investing in the health and education of girls pays huge dividends, for the girls themselves and for society (for more on Larry’s record on women’s issues, read Sheryl Sandberg’s column in the Huffington Post; and for up-to-date policy prescriptions on the value of empowering adolescent girls, see Ruth Levine’s fine CGD report, Girls Count: A Global Investment and Action Agenda).
I am proud that Summers is currently the co-chair of the Center for Global Development Commission on International Migration Data for Development Research, whose final report will be issued early in 2009. The Commission is part of CGD efforts, led by research fellow Michael Clemens, to build solid, empirical knowledge about the impact on sending countries of international migration. As other commentators have noted, there are lots of reasons that Larry is a terrific choice to head the National Economic Council. On top of all these, we will soon have a champion in the White House for collection, organization and analysis of census and survey data to improve knowledge about the impact of international migration on poor people.
Timothy Geithner is described in one thoughtful profile earlier this month as “razor sharp but with an easy way about him.” That certainly matches my impressions from his contributions to our board meetings, including the thoughtful remarks he made at our board dinner in 2006. Tim understands the role of multilateral financial institutions: between his time as Undersecretary for International Affairs at the Treasury and his going to head the Federal Reserve in New York, he was a senior official at the IMF. I also find it encouraging that in recent speeches he has referred several times to the problem of high and rising inequality in the United States (see for example this recent Wall Street Journal profile) This suggests to me that Tim also recognizes the risks posed by global inequality and inequality within poor countries, an area of ongoing research here at CGD that has been a particular interest of mine.
November 25, 2008 at 11:06 am
Many of us from the developing world may agree with Larry Summers being a good choice for the US, but less so for the world’s poor.
Isn’t this the same Larry Summers who scolded “Mr. Yen” Eisuke Sakakibara over plans to create an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) at the height of the Asian crisis? Wasn’t this action largely aimed at maintaining US influence over the IMF’s role as lender of last resort?
I just think it fair to point out that Summers is, after all, a controversial figure.
November 25, 2008 at 11:25 am
How fortunate the country is to have a President-elect who is willing to assemble a collection of the Best and Brightest to help run the country during the worst economic crisis we have faced in 75 years. The fact that Tim and Larry have worked so closely together over the years should ensure that there will be close cooperation between the Treasury Department and the NEC, in a time where we cannot afford to have intra-agency/white house squabbles. Navigating this crisis will be a challenge for any economic team. Thank heavens we will be lead by people experienced in working together on crises.
November 25, 2008 at 11:52 am
Congratulations for the name of two board members to lead the nation and the world economy at these times of absolute need.
I have a curiosity and that is if you know of any institution which has estimated the impact of the crisis in the welfare of the American people. Yes, it’s not over yet but there is already a lot of material to begin trying to understand how profound this recession has impacted Americans.
Thank you.
SC
November 25, 2008 at 12:09 pm
You are very right Nancy, these are the men the world needs.
November 25, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I thought Mr. Summers was one of those who disapproved of Joseph Stiglitz’s and Ravi Kanbur’s ideas about the two international financial institutions and Bank’s World Development reports–see Wade, 2002, Review of IPE, Vol9:2.
November 26, 2008 at 6:42 am
The choice of the two gentlemen to the high profile positions should be excellent news not only to the USA but the global village in general, especially the developing countries in Asia and Africa. Their knowledge and understanding of the root causes of poverty which are largely driven by the global inequities arising from lack of opportunities to advance peoples potentials and by restrogressive and restrictive trade policies bodes well for the world. May I take this early opportunity to congratulate them on their appointments and to wish them success in their challenging positions in the new adminisration.
November 26, 2008 at 9:36 am
The omen’s are favorable, but let’s just all keep in mind what Kennedy’s “Best and Brightest” led us into.
November 26, 2008 at 1:39 pm
In the run up to the caucuses, Obama said the 8 U.N. Millennium Development Goals (the basis for ONE) “are AMERICA’s goals.”
Joe Biden said the MDG fit his proposed administration “like hand in glove.”
I think these appointments show quiet but firm determination to consider what is best for the whole world in assembling a leadership team. I am encouraged and hopeful.
November 26, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I hope you are correct in your assumption that these two men will help lead the US and the world out of this economic crisis. There is no doubt that both men are very well educated and knowledgable about the economic problems facing the world. My problem with them is that they are essentially the same guys who worked under former President Clinton and have advocated the extreme free market ideology that, many would argue, got us into this mess.
November 27, 2008 at 11:35 am
Interdependence is a curse. What are you going to do if someone you are interdependent upon decides to cut you?