International economic cooperation in the post-Trump-post-Brexit-era

Abstract:

A hundred years ago, the first great era of globalisation collapsed into World War I. This was soon followed by the Great Depression and World War II. But at the end of that global crisis an enlightened generation of policymakers in the US and Britain led the world in creating an open international order. A remarkable period of economic growth then ensued, lasting for sixty years. That second era of global prosperity ended with the global financial crisis of 2008. The initial response by policymakers to this second global crisis was also an enlightened one, but this has ceased to be the case. Many observers link Brexit, the wider European crisis, and the rise of Trump to the failures which these policymakers committed. In this lecture, Professor Vines, will describe what led us into this position, and will consider possible responses. He will ask first whether there is a viable solution to the crisis in Europe that Brexit has brought into sharp relief. He will then describe how the effects of protectionist policies in the US might be countered, focusing on the crucial role of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership process in Asia. Finally, he will ask what kind of global leadership we might hope and expect that China will provide.