Dr. Steve H. Hanke's Two Part Exclusive Interview with Petia Minkova, Deputy Editor in Chief of 168 Hours
Author: Steve H. Hanke
Interviewer: Petia Minkova, Deputy Editor in Chief, 168 Hours (Sofia)
Series: Studies in Applied Economics, No. 209
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise, Baltimore
Date: May 2022
Hanke's answers to Petia Minkova's questions of May 9, 2022 for the Bulgarian weekly 168 Hours, published in two parts. In the first, Hanke draws on his service in the Reagan administration to argue how President Reagan would have approached the Russia-Ukraine war, emphasizing Reagan's combination of unambiguous strength with a willingness to negotiate, and the economic pressure that a strong dollar and Soviet resource dependence made possible. In the second, he turns to Bulgaria's rising inflation and its currency board, explaining that the board fixes the lev to the euro and therefore imports euro-area monetary conditions, so Bulgaria's inflation originates in Frankfurt rather than in Sofia, and that the country's own contribution to the problem lies in fiscal policy. He restates his long-standing defense of the currency board Bulgaria adopted in 1997, which he helped design.
Full Citation:
Hanke, Steve H. "Dr. Steve H. Hanke's Two Part Exclusive Interview with Petia Minkova, Deputy Editor in Chief of 168 Hours: How President Reagan Would Have Approached the Russia-Ukraine War and Comments on Bulgaria's Current Inflation and its Currency Board System." Studies in Applied Economics, No. 209. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise, May 2022.