only stabilized their financial systems more effectively and recovered faster, but also avoided the toxic protectionism of the day. Today, the United States is in the position of the gold-standard countries in the 1930's. It can't unilaterally adjust the level of the dollar against the Chinese renminbi. Employment growth continues to disappoint, and fears of deflation will not go away. Lacking other instruments with which to address these problems, the pressure for a protectionist response is growing. So what can be done to address the situation without getting into a beggar-thy-neighbor, retaliatory free-for-all? In the deflationary 1930's, the most important way that countries could subdue protectionist pressure was to use monetary policy actively to push up the price level and stimulate economic recovery. The same is true today. If fears of deflation were to recede, and if output and employment were to grow more vigorously, the pressure for a protectionist response would dissipate. The villain..., then, is not China, but the US Federal Reserve Board, which has been reluctant to use all the tools at its disposal... Of course, with China pegging the renminbi to the dollar, the Fed would, in effect, be reflating not just the US but also the Chinese economy. ... China might not be happy with the result. Inflation there is already too high for comfort. Fortunately, the Chinese government has a ready solution to this problem: that's right, it can let its currency appreciate. Thursday, October 07, 2010 Trying to stir things up a bit