At a November 4 conference, economists explained what is driving the current account deficit, how much this deficit should concern policymakers, and what can be done to reduce it.

U.S. policymakers would be making a grave mistake by ignoring today's large external current account deficit and by blithely going for economic growth.

If Japan combines a reflationary monetary policy,rapid deregulation, restructuring of its domestic sector and an attendant surge of investment will promote the flow of capital.

With or without the encouragement of Rubin and his G-7 colleagues, the dollar will continue to rise.

Though no longer a Cold War rival, Russia continues to pose immense challenges for the United States. The Kremlin’s perception of Russia as an “independent pole in a multi-polar world” often results in Russian policies that place the country at odds with the West. Russia’s current political elites are determined to prevent—and in some cases roll back—color revolutions in the former Soviet Union. They fear that successful democratization on Russia’s periphery will rouse similar demands at home. Regardless, the Kremlin’s ineffective authoritarian governance has stimulated a wave of large-scale protests in recent months that likely mark the beginning of Russia’s transition away from the Vladimir Putin era.

Can the current post-Bretton Woods international monetary system prevent a return to the beggar-thy-neighbor policies and competitive devaluations that so harmed international prosperity in the 1930s? What are the system's flaws? Can they be corrected, and if so, how? An expert panel will address these and related issues.

The relationship between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China is multifaceted and goes well beyond economic relations, but questions of macroeconomic imbalances have remained at the heart of bilateral discussions between the two.

The last thing countries like Spain, Ireland, Greece, Italy, and Portugal need is a strong currency at a time when they are trying to redress their highly compromised public finances in the midst of severe economic recessions.