The Baker Institute International Economics Program studies many key issues in global economic policy, as well as domestic macroeconomic and developmental policy in foreign countries. Between debt concerns in Europe threatening another global financial crisis and the ascendancy of emerging economies, best typified by China becoming the world’s second-largest economy, the shape and dynamics of the global economy and its governance are undergoing significant shifts. Baker Institute researchers study the role of financial imbalances in recent and potential crises, with the intent of proposing alternative mechanisms for correcting these imbalances and reducing the tight financial coupling of global markets that leads to contagion and systemic risk.