It is an honor to be with all of you tonight. Although he cannot be here this evening, I know we are all profoundly grateful to Dr.", "publishDate": "2018-12-04", "sections": [ { "heading": "Introduction", "content": "- Eighth Henry A. Kissinger Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC — Christine Lagarde — Managing Director — International Monetary Fund; Washington, DC; December 4, 2018. \n- Lecture theme: creativity and long-term vision rooted in history as a basis for adapting international economic cooperation to current challenges." }, { "heading": "I. 75 Years of Creativity & Vision in International Economic Cooperation", "content": "- Historical turning points and institutional responses:\n - Bretton Woods founding (1944): creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to promote international monetary cooperation, support expansion of trade and economic growth, and discourage harmful policies.\n - IMF role complementing the Marshall Plan in postwar European recovery.\n - Early 1970s: Nixon suspended US dollar convertibility into gold, leading to modern floating exchange rate structure and adaptation of the IMF’s role.\n - 1973 oil crisis: IMF created new tools for energy emergencies.\n - 1980s Latin American debt crisis: IMF interventions to stabilize.\n - Post–Berlin Wall: assistance for transition from centrally planned to free market economies.\n - 1990s: responses to the Mexican peso crisis and the Asian financial crisis.\n - 2008 global financial crisis: G20 and Federal Reserve actions; IMF committed over $500 billion to help secure the global economy.\n - Post-2008 decade: IMF supported economic programs in over 90 countries and adapted lending instruments, including zero-interest loans for low-income countries.\n- Institutional characteristics emphasized:\n - Adaptability: “build on what worked, change what did not, and adapt.”\n - US leadership: seen as central to forging compromise and supporting a collaborative international economic order.\n- Long-run U.S. economic outcomes since Bretton Woods:\n - Real US GDP increased by a factor of eight.\n - The average American’s real income has quadrupled." }, { "heading": "II. The Next Chapter: How to Reimagine International Cooperation", "content": "- Systemic shifts and risks:\n - Drivers of change: geopolitics, shift in economic power from west to east, rise of non-state actors, technology acceleration.\n - Data surge: “90 percent of the world’s data was created just over the last two years.”\n - Interconnected risks: weapons of mass destruction, cyber-security, interconnected financial system — many challenges transcend borders.\n- Two contrasting scenarios by 2040:\n - Age of Anger (dystopian risks):\n - “By 2040, inequality could surpass the levels of the Gilded Age.”\n - Strong tech monopolies and weak governments could stifle start-ups and entrepreneurs.\n - Health breakthroughs could allow the richest to live past 120, while millions suffer extreme poverty and disease.\n - Social media could exacerbate the aspiration gap, fueling resentment and mistrust between nations.\n - Age of Ingenuity (aspirational vision):\n - “By 2040, we would see flourishing economies predominantly running on renewable energy.”\n - Women fully empowered in the workforce as an economic and social game-changer.\n - New pension systems and health care portability reflecting the changing nature of work in the digital economy.\n - Corporations embracing social responsibility; technological advances saving lives and creating millions of jobs.\n - Trade expansion and peaceful co-existence prevailing." }, { "heading": "a. Keys to the Age of Ingenuity — Four priority areas for cooperation", "content": "- Trade:\n - Urgent need to “fix the system” and “de-escalate” trade tensions.\n - Policy measures recommended:\n - Eliminate distortionary subsidies “whichever form and color they take.”\n - Protect intellectual property rights without stifling innovation.\n - Remove rents and enable new trade agreements to unleash e-commerce and trade in services.\n - Improve macroeconomic policies to reduce external imbalances, including trade surpluses and deficits.\n - Rationale: trade lifts productivity and accelerates innovation.\n- International taxation:\n - Problem: companies have worldwide presence but no worldwide tax solution; tax optimization leaves “too many tax dollars … on the table.”\n - Policy measures recommended:\n - Multilateral cooperation to collect owed taxes and avoid a tax race to the bottom.\n - Close loopholes that lead to base erosion and profit shifting.\n - Devise regulations for a digital economy where many companies have no single established base of operations.\n - Purpose: funding for public investment—strengthening infrastructure, improving education, and preparing societies for technological transformation.\n- Climate:\n - Observed impacts: recent major hurricanes in the Caribbean; wildfires in California.\n - Evidence: “A new US government study shows that the economic impact from climate change could significantly reduce America’s GDP in the coming decades.”\n - Policy stance: Paris Agreement (2015) as the best toolbox to move toward a zero-carbon economy; framing climate action as survival for future generations.\n- Good governance and anti-corruption (bedrock issue):\n - Corruption undermines trust and economic vitality; diverts resources from education and health.\n - Key statistics and findings:\n - “The annual cost of bribery alone is over 1.5 trillion dollars — roughly two percent of global GDP.”\n - Millennials identify corruption as the most pressing concern in their countries (WEF Global Shapers Annual Survey 2017).\n - IMF engagement:\n - Scrutinizing the macroeconomic impact of corruption.\n - Worked with over 110 countries on improving efforts to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing.\n - Policy measures recommended:\n - Invest in institutions and persistently verify institutional delivery.\n - Cross-border collaboration to counter illicit financial flows amplified by fintech and cryptocurrency.\n - Leverage technology—biometrics, blockchain, cybersecurity partnerships with engineers—to build safer systems that protect financial integrity.\n - Broader point: fighting corruption can model cooperation across trade, tax, and climate and help restore trust." }, { "heading": "Conclusion", "content": "- Historical reflection: December 4th significance — on December 4th, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson sailed for France to negotiate a hoped-for lasting peace; a symbolic origin for creativity and visionary thinking in US foreign policy.\n- Call to action:\n - Build on what worked, change what did not, and continually evolve.\n - Make 2019 a turning point for a new “Age of Ingenuity” centered on people, transparency, accountability, and shared gains from globalization.\n- Closing exhortation: restore trust and reimagine international cooperation to build prosperity and peace for future generations.\n\nInternational Monetary Fund — Age of Ingenuity: Reimagining 21st Century International Cooperation — Christine Lagarde — December 4, 2018.\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Christine Lagarde\n- Argentina and the IMF\n- France and the IMF\n- United States and the IMF\n- The IMF and Good Governance -- A Factsheet\n- Speeches\n- PRESS CENTER\n- Corruption: Costs and Mitigating Strategies\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/12/04/sp120418-md-kissinger-speech" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2018/12/04/sp120418-md-kissinger-speech/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2018/12/04/sp120418-md-kissinger-speech/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2018/12/04/sp120418-md-kissinger-speech/bundle-manifest.json)", "Published: December 4, 2018", "Eighth Henry A. Kissinger Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC — Christine Lagarde — Managing Director — International Monetary Fund; Washington, DC; December 4, 2018.", "Lecture theme: creativity and long-term vision rooted in history as a basis for adapting international economic cooperation to current challenges.", "Historical turning points and institutional responses:", "Institutional characteristics emphasized:", "Long-run U.S. economic outcomes since Bretton Woods:", "Systemic shifts and risks:", "Two contrasting scenarios by 2040:", "Trade:", "International taxation:", "Climate:", "Good governance and anti-corruption (bedrock issue):", "Historical reflection: December 4th significance — on December 4th, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson sailed for France to negotiate a hoped-for lasting peace; a symbolic origin for creativity and visionary thinking in US foreign policy.", "Call to action:", "Closing exhortation: restore trust and reimagine international cooperation to build prosperity and peace for future generations.", "[Christine Lagarde](https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/christine-lagarde)", "[Argentina and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/ARG/index.htm)", "[France and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/FRA/index.htm)", "[United States and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/USA/index.htm)", "[The IMF and Good Governance -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/the-imf-and-good-governance)", "[Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[Corruption: Costs and Mitigating Strategies](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Staff-Discussion-Notes/Issues/2016/12/31/Corruption-Costs-and-Mitigating-Strategies-43888)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2018/12/04/sp120418-md-kissinger-speech/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2018/12/04/sp120418-md-kissinger-speech/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2018/12/04/sp120418-md-kissinger-speech/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-25T22:23:11.108Z" }