About the International Policy Center

The International Policy Center, known as the IPC, is a new research center based at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.  The IPC serves as an intellectual focal point for international research and education by bringing together academics at the University of Michigan to produce innovative research on key issues related to government, non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and business policies in the increasingly global world.    Our broad areas of research interest include: international trade and finance; international political economy; comparative economic development; and global health issues.  The IPC strives to generate rigorous policy-oriented research that advances the learning and research of Michigan faculty and students, as well as inform policy makers in international multilateral institutions.  The IPC Working Papers Series, a new collection of papers provides insights into pertinent issues in international policy.

 

Research and Activities
The IPC is currently engaged in several research projects, including one on Post-Crisis Global Financial Flows and one dealing with International Policies and Corporate Performance.  The first project examines the global financial system in the post-crisis era to establish whether the capital market reforms of the 1990s were maintained and whether the resultant patterns of capital flows provide new lessons on the value of these reforms. The second project examines various aspects of the (Post) Washington Consensus Policies and their effect on the ownership, governance and performance of domestic and foreign firms in emerging market economies.

 

The IPC also sponsors lectures, seminar series and conferences.    As part of our distinguished lecture series, we are hosting Jean Lemierre, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on February 16th, 2006.   Future speakers include Kemal Dervis, the head of the United Nations Development Programme in Fall 2006.  We sponsor three weekly faculty seminars; the Economic Development and Transition Seminar (EDTS) series, the International Health Policy Seminars series and the International Trade/Finance Seminar series.  We also fund student internships and the International Economic Development Program (IEDP) of the International Policy Students Association (IPSA).