Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 05/2010

Confronting Asset Bubbles, Too Big to Fail, and Beggar-thy- Neighbor Exchange Rate Policies

Morris Goldstein

February 2010

Peterson Institute for International Economics

Abstract

When pondering desirable reforms, I prefer to think about both the international financial system and the international monetary system because as this global crisis demonstrates so vividly, the root causes can come from both the financial and the monetary spheres and they can interact in a variety of ways. On the financial side, I want to emphasize two problems: pricking asset price bubbles before they get too large, and confronting "too big to fail." On the monetary side, I want to concentrate on what can be done to discourage "beggar-thy-neighbor" exchange rate policies.