In a landmark 1968 book, Economy of InterdependenceRichard N. Cooper examines the main challenge of the global economy: how nations can preserve the benefits of international economic cooperation while maintaining the freedom to pursue their own economic interests.
In this fourth annual Richard N. Cooper Memorial Lecture, Maurice ObstfeldPIIE C. Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow, revisits the evolution of that challenge, tracing how the economic and political landscape of the late 1960s changed over the following decades. Obstfeld examines the tension between economic interdependence and national autonomy, from balance of payments pressures and business and banking regulation to emerging global challenges such as public health, climate change, and artificial intelligence. Drawing on Cooper’s lasting contributions as an economist and practitioner of international cooperation, the lecture considers why cooperation is becoming more important even as political currents increasingly favor a narrow conception of national sovereignty.
The program also features recorded commentary from Jason FurmanPIIE nonresident senior fellow, and moderated discussion with Marcus NolandPIIE’s executive vice president of research, following the lecture.
OPENING NOTES (recorded)
Jason Furman
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
MODERATOR
Marcus Noland
Executive Vice Chairman of Research, PIIE
SPEAKER
Maurice Obstfeld
C. Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow, PIIE