Structural Challenges Facing the World Economy

Michael Spence and Sandile Hlatshwayo of New York University’s business school identify the major challenges facing the global economy and address threats to liberal trade policies. “If a relatively open global system is to survive in a world where nation states are the principle decision makers, it will have to be managed and guided not just to achieve efficiency and stability (important as these goals are), but also to ensure that its benefits are distributed equitably between and within countries. If employment in advanced countries like the U.S. recovers strongly along with growth, political support for an open global economy will be easier to sustain.”