Lawrence Summers quotes

Lawrence Summers is an influential American economist and former Treasury Secretary. Widely recognized for his work in public policy and academic leadership, he has served as President of Harvard University and Director of the National Economic Council. He continues to be a prominent voice on economic and financial issues worldwide. Here are 33 of his quotes:

We must recognise that in an integrated world, trade cannot be divorced from other concerns. We need to promote free trade and serious global efforts with respect to common problems even as we support every nation's right to chart its own course. (Lawrence Summers)
Takeovers wouldn't cause the stock market to rise unless there is an upward reassessment of earnings (potential). People are more optimistic and confident about the future. View quote
Lawrence Summers
...it's important to remember how fortunate we are as a country to have a currency and a bond market that is seen in every way as a source of strength and it's a huge responsibility for us to keep it that way. View quote
Lawrence Summers
With uncertainty in oil markets, a buildup of speculative pressures and the large U. S. current account deficit, there is a real possibility that Paulson's crisis-management skills will be tested. View quote
Lawrence Summers
Where countries have been able to carry through on their reform commitments -- as in Korea, Thailand and the Philippines -- results are starting to come in the form of lower interest rates, new investment and increased growth. View quote
Lawrence Summers
The things you hear now about European unemployment -- that there are structural problems, that real wages have failed to adjust, that there are inflationary fears -- are the same things that were said during the early 1930. It is well established that government spending began to pull Germany out of its slump in 1935. There is no known reason why spending for peace can't do as well at getting the economy going as spending for war. View quote
Lawrence Summers
In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car. View quote
Lawrence Summers
In politics, as in poetry, it is sometimes true that it is darkest before dawn. View quote
Lawrence Summers
The dramatic modernization of the Asian economies ranks alongside the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution as one of the most important developments in economic history. View quote
Lawrence Summers
It says something about this new global economy that USA Today now reports every morning on the day's events in Asian markets. View quote
Lawrence Summers
Blaming speculators as a response to financial crisis goes back at least to the Greeks. It's almost always the wrong response. (Lawrence Summers)
Things take longer to happen than you think they will and then they happen faster than you think they will. View quote
Lawrence Summers
The country will not have to pay the piper. Through a combination of sound policy actions and a great deal of good luck we are well on our way to a soft landing and a period of growth and price stability. View quote
Lawrence Summers
I know that there is one additional thing that I've learned and that is that what Harvard does and says has an enormous resonance that goes beyond Zip code 02138. View quote
Lawrence Summers
The situation in a number of countries reminds one that it's still a risky world out there in the emerging markets. View quote
Lawrence Summers
I deeply regret the impact of my comments and apologise for not having weighed them more carefully ... I was wrong to have spoken in a way that has resulted in an unintended signal of discouragement to talented girls and women. View quote
Lawrence Summers
No free country will ever again have anything like the 90 percent tax rates that we had in this country. Past a certain point, high marginal tax rates are, indeed, terribly destructive. View quote
Lawrence Summers
Global capital markets pose the same kinds of problems that jet planes do. They are faster, more comfortable, and they get you where you are going better. But the crashes are much more spectacular. View quote
Lawrence Summers
There are children who are working in textile businesses in Asia who would be prostitutes on the streets if they did not have those jobs. View quote
Lawrence Summers
I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to it. View quote
Lawrence Summers
Many children are taught to believe in God. I came to believe in the power of systems analysis. (Lawrence Summers)
It used to be said that when the U.S. sneezed, the world caught a cold. The opposite is equally true today. View quote
Lawrence Summers
We are inheriting the worst financial system since the Depression. We're inheriting a situation - when people go back and study major banking crises a quarter century from now, the one that America developed in 2007 and 2008 is going to be one of those crises. View quote
Lawrence Summers
The availability of private insurance provides tremendous insulation for millions of individuals. View quote
Lawrence Summers
You can't have a situation in which companies proceed on a permanent basis relying only on cash from the government. View quote
Lawrence Summers