Publication:
Widening distrust of globalisation could herald economic fragmentation
Abstract
It was the Ricardian theory of comparative advantage that provided the rationale for why nations should trade among themselves and how it can be beneficial to all. Steady growth in trade led to increased economic integration between countries and the resulting globalisation. The post-war years, from 1945 onwards, saw extensive growth in cross-border movement of goods, services and capital. This peace dividend, which sustained over the next decades, received a major boost in the 1980s with the integration of China and the former Soviet bloc nations into the global trading system. The subsequent formation of the World Trade Organization also helped further the globalisation process by establishing a framework of rules and norms. Over the years, despite the ebbs and flows, there is no disputing the many benefits that have accrued to the global community. Globalisation enabled poorer countries to catch up and pull themselves up through export-oriented growth. As a result, at least a billion people have been estimated to have been pulled out of poverty. Nations became closely integrated as production became increasingly specialised in the name of economies of scale and cost efficiencies. As output efficiencies reduced product costs and increased affordability, the poorest segments benefited. Further, as outsourcing of manufacturing and services from high cost to lower cost nations became necessary for competitiveness, skilled and semi-skilled labour in developing countries benefited. China became the world�s factory and India the provider of its backroom support systems. Despite these obvious benefits of globalisation, a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) policy paper points at rising discontent and dysfunctional policies initiating a process in reverse thrust. The inflection point according to the paper was the post-global financial crisis period from 2009.
Keywords
Ricardian theory , Economy , Globalisation
Citation
Bacha, O. I. (2023, February 23). Widening distrust of globalisation could herald economic fragmentation. The Edge Malaysia.
Publisher
The Edge Communications Sdn. Bhd.
DOI
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Widening_distrust_of_globalisation_could_herald_economic_fragmentation_Obiyathulla.pdf
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