A penetrating account of how unchecked capital mobility is damaging international cooperation, polarizing the economic landscape, and ultimately reshaping the global order
When it comes to the afflictions of the global economy, almost everyone—and especially Donald Trump—is quick to point the finger of blame at the state of international trade. But what about unconstrained capital flows? Unfettered capital has resulted in a string of financial and economic crises that have left our political systems strained and dialogue corroded. The once perceived benefits of openness have been cast to the wayside and the cracks in the global order can no longer be ignored.
Paola Subacchi argues that international cooperation and interdependence have become crippled. Regional restrictions will soon strengthen and a multipolar order will take shape, leading to a distinctly transformed economic landscape in which China challenges the dominance of the US dollar. Combining history, analysis, and prediction, this book provides penetrating insight into the challenges facing the international economic order.
Author(s): Paola Subacchi
Publisher: Yale University Press
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 320
City: New Haven
Cover page
Halftitle page
Title page
Copyright page
CONTENTS
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITIONS AND WHAT TO EXPECT
WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT
1 WE’VE NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD
THE POSTWAR GOLDEN AGE
A BAG FOR CASH
A DEEPLY INTEGRATED WORLD ECONOMY
OPENING UP
MONEY CONNECTS THE WORLD
MERCURY VS MARS50
A FRAMEWORK OF RULES FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE
EUROPE BUILDS ITS INSTITUTIONS
MANAGING THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY
2 EVERYTHING STARTED AT BRETTON WOODS
THE PROBLEM WITH MONETARY STRAIGHTJACKETS
FLEXIBILITY AND DISCIPLINE: THE BRETTON WOODS SYSTEM
THE DOLLAR SETS THE STANDARD
ASCENDING AND DESCENDING CURRENCIES
THE POSTWAR INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
‘OUR CURRENCY, YOUR PROBLEM’
THE UNITED STATES NO LONGER PLAYS ALONG, 1971
THE POST-BRETTON WOODS ‘NON-SYSTEM’
3 A WORLD OF CRISES
MEXICO’S ‘TEQUILA CRISIS’, 1994
BRITAIN AND ITALY’S ‘BLACK WEDNESDAY’, 1992
THE ‘ASIAN TIGERS’ GO INTO DEFAULT MODE, 1997
CRISIS AFTER CRISIS, ARGENTINA, 2001
THE CRISIS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD, 2008
4 PLAYING THE DOLLAR GAME
ORIGINAL SINNERS . . .
. . . AND IMMATURE LENDERS
‘TAPER TANTRUM’ HITS THE EMERGING MARKETS
QE AND ‘CURRENCY WARS’
SITTING ON A PILE OF DOLLARS
BLAME YOURSELF
DOLLARS ON TAP
GASPING UNDER TOO MUCH DEBT
5 EUROPE STRUGGLES WITH INTEGRATION
WHO SHOULD BEAR THE BURDEN OF ADJUSTMENT?
NOT QUITE FIT FOR THE EURO
EURO TROUBLES START IN GREECE
LENDERS OF LAST RESORT
WHO SETS THE RULES?
DEBT AND POLITICS
6 SHOWING THE CRACKS
WORKING POOR AND THRIVING ELITES
THE ROAD TO BREXIT
ANTI-EU SENTIMENT IS RIFE IN ITALY
MORE CONTESTED GEOPOLITICS
TROUBLES WITH RUSSIA
RESPONDING TO THREATS?
7 BEING CHINA
THE LONG MARCH OF CHINA’S ECONOMY
SAVING FOR THE COUNTRY
FINANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT
BELT AND ROAD
THE RENMINBI: WORK IN PROGRESS
THE LIMITS OF CHINA’S MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT
THE PROBLEM WITH TRADE AND FINANCIAL IMBALANCES
‘CHINA IS STEALING OUR FUTURE’
THE UNITED STATES CONFRONTS CHINA
8 BUILDING A RESILIENT FRAMEWORK
A ‘NEW BRETTON WOODS’?
A BROAD SAFETY NET
A FRAMEWORK FOR MULTILATERAL LENDING
DEBT RESTRUCTURING: ‘A GAPING HOLE’
IMBALANCES THREATEN INTERNATIONAL TRADE
OLD INSTITUTIONS, NEW WORLD
STAGNANT GOVERNANCE
REFORM IN DEADLOCK
9 AN ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM?
RIVALRY
THE NEW DEVELOPMENT BANKS: AIIB AND NDB
CMI AND REGIONAL SAFETY NETS
RENMINBI ON TAP
USING RENMINBI TO BUILD THE BEIJING CONSENSUS?
CHINA PLAYS ALONG, SO FAR
10 POLES APART
THE RELUCTANT (AND DYSFUNCTIONAL) LEADER
BEYOND THE DOLLAR?
A WORLD OF REGIONS AND ECONOMIC POLES
REGIONALISM IN PROGRESS IN ASIA
IF CHINA GOES SOLO?
THE END OF THE STORY
NOTES
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
