Martin Wolf is the Associate Editor for the Financial Times and Distinguished Visiting Fellow for International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. In this second lecture of a three-part series on the global economy, Martin Wolf explores why global imbalances cause financial crises like the one ravaging the world now and outlines the steps needed to end this destructive cycle. He explains why the United States cannot remain the “borrower and spender of last resort,” and he argues that global economic security depends on the ability of emerging economies to develop their own robust financial systems.

Wolf, who was described as “the world’s preeminent financial journalist,” is associate editor and chief economics commentator of the Financial Times, where he writes a weekly column on the world economy. He was senior economist for ten years at the World Bank’s division of international trade, director of studies at the Trade Policy Research Centre in London, and has advised governments and international organizations on trade and economic integration. In 2000, Wolf was made a Commander of the British Empire for his achievements in financial journalism. The author of “Why Globalization Works,” Wolf has been named in Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines’ “Top 100 Public Intellectuals” list. His latest book is “Fixing Global Finance.”

This program is cosponsored by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Generous series support is provided by HSBC-North America.

Recorded Tuesday, March 03, 2009 at University of Chicago Gleacher Center.