And if countries held their reserves in SDRs, they would escape the Triffin dilemma.
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If countries are lending their neighbours vast amounts of money, they become further entwined.
But even if countries were fined for being poor, mismanaged, or crisis-causing, why should politicians care?
And how would you feel if countries used their investments in America to influence our foreign policy?
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If countries think they can get away with it, the temptation to flout world-trade rules will grow.
Central-bank purchases will not alleviate the pressure on backsliding governments if countries have to meet specific conditions.
If countries in the region take these efforts seriously, the pirates could be the ones in dangerous waters.
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And yet if countries like Turkey want to develop, hydro-electricity is a clean, efficient way of doing so.
If countries had done what they were supposed to do, we wouldn't be in the mess we are.
Even if countries are not particularly credit worthy, their sovereign bonds are usually safer than other domestic alternatives.
For example, they accepted compliance rules that set out what happens if countries do not meet their targets.
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If countries are like companies, the Philippines is trading at a bargain-basement price.
Can criminals with their international trafficking in drugs and weapons--and the money involved--be defeated if countries refuse to work together?
It is impossible to determine if countries are doing what they agreed to do under the terms of the treaty.
But if countries continue to avoid hard choices, the adjustment will eventually be forced on them through recession and unemployment.
Rates of migration might slow if countries were to slam their doors shut, or because the supply of migrants declines.
This is seen as particularly likely if countries within the eurozone, of which the UK is not a part, integrate further.
This would be true even if countries could avoid adverse effects on their currencies, as Malaysia is attempting through capital controls.
In theory, groups of countries could pool reserves, so that a smaller amount would suffice than if countries each maintain their own buffers.
For a sense of what can be done to improve ties if countries really set their minds to it, consider America and Russia.
If countries could send more than two swimmers in some individual events, the U.S. would likely hog more podium spots than it already does.
If countries perceive themselves as brands, they can better influence the dialogue about their role in the world by both internal and external audiences.
As Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the fund's boss, puts it: if countries start cutting budgets a year late, they will have an unnecessarily large debt burden.
Mr Wolf devotes a lot of attention to the vital, albeit limited, role that the state needs to play if countries are to prosper.
And if countries do accept the need for research involving human stem cells, a central bank with material available to all researchers is more efficient.
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Thats true only if countries continue to permit excess money creation.
"If countries don't want what we are growing I'll lose everything and so will the people I employ to help me sow and harvest, " he says.
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"It is sometimes better to have more time, " Ms Lagarde said, noting that if countries tried to cut their budgets simultaneously it could multiply austerity's impact on the economy.
If countries want to be connected to the Internet and be part of the global society, they have an obligation to investigate cybercriminal events and cooperate in bringing hackers to justice.
But, if countries like Italy start to lose market access altogether, then you could see how the ECB could end up playing "lender of last resort, one step removed", effectively funding private bank purchases of Italian bonds.
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