The Advance of Economic Nationalism

OCP Policy Centre - Rabat

OCP Policy center is organizing a high-level discussion with Jeromin Zettelmeyer of the Peterson Institute for International Economics on “The Advance of Economic Nationalism in Advanced and Emerging Markets, and Threats on the Global Economy”. The conversation aims to shed light on the issue of economic nationalism, by capitalizing on Mr. Zettelmeyer’s insights.

In today’s globalized world, the advances in communication and transportation technology combined with free-market ideology, have given goods, services, and capital unprecedented mobility. However, across the globe, trends of nationalization and economic nationalism have crept into the policies of nation-states in recent years. Economic nationalism refers to an ideology favoring policies that focuses on domestic control of the economy, labor, and capital formation. Often, these changes require the imposition of tariffs and other restrictions on the movement of labor, goods and capital. They also tend to along with attempts to protect jobs and prioritize the development specific sectors of economy, like heavy industry or manufacturing.

One of the most significant developments in 2016 and 2017 threatening the existing global economic order was the rise of economic nationalism in Europe and in the USA. President Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon declared that the Trump Presidency would deliver "an economic nationalist agenda", while President Trump has asserted that "protection will lead to great prosperity and strength" for the USA. This neo-nationalism is not a purely American phenomenon. It is also spreading across advanced and emerging countries. It is associated with a whole range of political positions from the far right to the far left.