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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Lagarde’s Speech Attracts Protesters

Online_IMFInternational Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde’s lecture in Gaston Hall on Thursday morning prompted a student protest of her invitation to campus and of the IMF.

In her lecture, Lagarde evaluated the future of the global economy and discussed ideas for resolving international economic problems.

About 10 students, unaffiliated with any student group, used props to play a game of “International Monopoly Fund” to show their opposition to the IMF as the lecture started at 11 a.m.

Students at Smith College protested Lagarde’s invitation to their campus in May, prompting her to drop out as the college’s commencement speaker.

Critics of the IMF charge that the organization has supported oppressive governments in providing aid to developing nations while imposing conditions that favor Western businesses and countries.

“That’s about the wealthy, Western countries that in the case of the IMF, have created really harmful and exploitative situations in other countries around the world that are poorer,” said Suzy Jivotovski (COL ’15), who participated in the protest.

The monopoly game, which protesters performed three times split between Healy Circle and Red Square, positioned protesters as “big business” and pawns as the IMF.

“It was kind of a total satire on the IMF’s lack of transparency, on their very interventionist, loan-shark mentality toward the global economy, toward exports,” Jivotovski said.

In her speech, Lagarde discussed the role of developing countries in the global economy.

“The developing countries have been doing all the heavy lifting in the past five years, contributing to roughly 80 percent of global growth,” Lagarde said. “Led by Asia primarily, particularly China, they will continue to contribute, but at a slightly slower pace because we are all interconnected. If some of the players are injured, the others will be affected too.”

Although these countries are in a period of growth, Lagarde said that the global economy is struggling to come back from financial turmoil.

“The bottom line is that six years after the financial crisis, we continue to see weakness in the global economy,” Lagarde said. “We are still dealing with the legacies of the crisis — much higher debt levels and unemployment are still major difficulties.”

In proposing macroeconomic solutions to these issues, Lagarde pointed to fiscal policy, labor market reform and infrastructural reform.

NATE MOULTON FOR THE HOYA President DeGioia welcomed Christine Lagarde in Gaston Hall.
NATE MOULTON FOR THE HOYA
President DeGioia welcomed Christine Lagarde in Gaston Hall.

“Have you heard about growth-friendly, job-friendly, and environmentally friendly fiscal policy? Because so much has already been done in terms of fiscal consolidation, countries have to do so at the right pace — not too fast, not too brutally, and they have to adjust to circumstances,” Lagarde said.

Lagarde also encouraged efficient public spending, reduction of taxes on labor costs and methods to battle tax evasion and said that tackling unemployment is a priority. She criticized current energy subsidies for fossil fuels, which cost $2 trillion in the past year, mostly to the benefit of developed countries.

However, she suggested that there is no definite method to implement labor market reform.

“There is no magic recipe because it has to be country-specific. It has to deal with the particularities of the skillset, the educational system and the kind of growth,” Lagarde said.

Lagarde pushed for policies allowing more women to enter the workforce worldwide, to maximize potential output. Lastly, she advocated for more spending on infrastructure, from providing more Massive Open Online Courses to increase workers’ skillsets to the repair of poorly constructed roads.

Anthony Albanese (COL ’16) found many of Lagarde’s comments to be relatable to domestic issues.

“The idea that increasing women’s participation in the labor force and environmental policies do not significantly decrease growth is a contentious issue domestically,” Albanese said. “That wasn’t something I expected her to say. Especially as a lot of times when speakers talk to students, you hear a lot of vague comments, so it was cool to hear her speak to something so specific.”

Muriel Van de Bilt (SFS ’17) not only appreciated Lagarde’s emphasis on gender inequality in the labor market, but also praised her as a role model.

“Seeing a woman in such a high leadership position in a field that is usually male-dominated makes me realize that she is an example for future generations of female economists,” Van de Bilt said.

The protesters outside Healy Hall said they opposed Lagarde’s lecture because it represented the university’s propensity to present students with a singular perspective.

“The people who put on the action are just a concerned group of students that wanted to create a counterpoint to Christine Lagarde of the IMF speaking at Gaston Hall this morning to represent that we don’t like how the president’s office and administration time and time again invites speakers who talk to students about things that really only have a singular viewpoint,” Jivotovski said.

This article originally appeared in print with the headline “Lagarde Discusses Economy.”

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    JonnyOct 5, 2014 at 5:50 pm

    man, she had a ton of spray tan on

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