Liberalizacija trgovine in tujih investicij ter globalizacija proizvodnje (na kratko globalizacija) je načeloma koristna za vse sodelujoče države. Toda ima nekaj stranskih učinkov, ki so lahko problematični na dolgi rok. Prvi so globalna trgovinska neravnotežja, kjer denimo ZDA z velikim trgovinskim deficitom podpirajo izvozne presežke azijskih in drugih držav razvoju, hkrati pa “uvažajo” njihove prihranke v obliki finančnega kapitala, kar je bila podlaga za ameriški finančni in nato nepremičninski balon pred letom 2007. Na to je opozarjal prejšnji predsednik Fed Ben Bernanke, ko je govoril o “saving glut”. Drugi stranski učinek pa je sicer zmanjšanje globalne neenakosti, hkrati pa povečanje neenakosti znotraj držav, ker vsi sektorji in sloji prebivalstva ne pridobivajo v enaki meri od globalizacije, pač pa nekateri izgubljajo.

Čas za razmislek o teorijah mednarodne menjave in veljavnosti njihovih implikacij glede splošno-ravnotežnih učinkov. Thomas Palley v novem paperju prinaša pregled teorij in njihovih implikacij glede ustvarjanja globalnih neravnotežij.

Prior to the 2008 financial crisis there was much debate about global trade imbalances. Prima facie, the imbalances seem a significant problem. However, acknowledging that would question mainstream economics’ celebratory stance toward globalization. That tension prompted an array of explanations which explained the imbalances while retaining the claim that globalization is economically beneficial.

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The economics profession has been a gung-ho supporter of neoliberal globalization, using the rhetoric of free trade. It advocated the policies of the Washington Consensus that were implemented by the IMF and World Bank in the 1980s and 1990s, and it remains one-hundred percent intellectually committed to neoliberal globalization. However, because globalization inevitably creates global imbalances which are potentially politically challenging, it is necessary to sanitize them by arguing they do no harm and do not undermine the benefits of neoliberal globalization. That is the political function of stage 4 theories of the global imbalances. The profession therefore promotes hypotheses that sanitize the imbalances, while ignoring those that paint the imbalances as the product of a toxic form of globalization.

Vir: Thomas Palley, The theory of global imbalances