Summary

The Peterson Institute for International Economics held its fourteenth semi-annual Global Economic Prospects program September 26, 2008. Senior Fellow Michael Mussa projected the course of the world economy over the rest of 2008 and for 2009. Senior Fellow Arvind Subramanian described the prospects for the emerging market economies. Special guest Daniel Yergin covered the outlook for energy prices.

The world economy obviously stands at a fragile point. The United States has slowed sharply and may be in, or approaching, a recession. The world economy as a whole is also slowing, and a key question is the extent to which its previous "decoupling" from the United States may be eroding.

About Daniel Yergin
Dr. Yergin is the Chairman and Cofounder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, one of the world's leading consulting and research firms in its field. He won a Pulitzer Price for his classic book on the oil industry, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power, which became a number one bestseller. He turned his subsequent book, Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy, into a six-hour PBS/BBC documentary that received three Emmy nominations. In testimony before the Joint Economic Committee on June 25, accurately predicted that world oil prices were near their peak for the foreseeable future. Dr. Yergin is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Institute and is now finishing a new book on energy and geopolitics.

Event Materials

Audio | Video

Global Economic Prospects: Surviving a Mild Case of Stagflation
Paper | Transcript [pdf]
Michael Mussa

Prospects for Emerging Markets/Trillion Dollar Club
Arvind Subramanian
Presentation | Transcript [pdf]