Globalization, Inequality, and Challenges to Free Trade

Abstract

This chapter analyzes an interrelated set of key economic policy debates since the late twentieth century, concerning issues of globalization, inequality, and trade. This demonstrates, in particular, how the policymaking consequences of recent international politics are influencing the global economic architecture. The core claims of much of the discourse on economic globalization were brought into question by the GFC, further undermining confidence in financial deregulation. Another aspect of this discourse, the emphasis on trade liberalization, also was undermined by the growing influence of ‘populist’ politicians in America and Europe. Rising inequality in many of these countries contributed to the populist political surge in 2016, which has also increased the relative authority shift between some politicians of those states.