The Case Against Globalisation Reparations
There are a lot of column inches currently being devoted to an increasingly popular idea: That the benefits of globalisation and free trade haven’t been sufficiently broadly spread and something must be done . This has been variously conceived in the form “globalisation’s losers”, “Rust Belt rebellion” and “back row kids” and has been placed at the centre of the anti-establishment wave sweeping developed economies. Without wanting to antagonise the no doubt well-meaning authors of such pieces, however, I’m not at all convinced that at this stage addressing national inequality using globalisation reparations frame is a good guide for public policy. For an example of this argument, see Gavyn Davies recent column in the FT (emphasis mine): “Economists have now recognised these dangers, and a new consensus has started to emerge. There has been (almost) no change in the overwhelming belief that free trade and globalisation are good things for society as a whole. But it is now ...