A backlash against globalization is helping to keep the world economy in a “low-growth trap” that will persist at least through next year, according to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.
In its latest Interim Economic Outlook, the OECD noted that over the past few years, the rate of global trade growth has halved relative to the pre-crisis period, and it declined further in recent quarters, with the weakness concentrated in Asia.
“Lack of progress — together with some backtracking — on the opening of global markets to trade has added to the slowdown,” the OECD said.
The group is now projecting global economic growth of only 2.9%, down from a forecast of 3.0% in its previous outlook in June and the lowest rate since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. For 2017, the projection is only 3.2%, still well below long-run averages of around 3.75%.
In the U.S., where solid consumption and job growth has been offset by weak business investment, growth is estimated at 1.4% this year and 2.1% in 2017.
“The marked slowdown in world trade underlines concerns about the robustness of the economy and the difficulties in exiting the low-growth trap,” OECD Chief Economist Catherine L. Mann said in a news release. “While weak demand is surely playing a role in the trade slowdown, a lack of political support for trade policies whose benefits could be widely shared is of deep concern.”
As Reuters reports, “A backlash against trade has surged onto the political agenda of several countries facing elections in the coming months,” with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump campaigning hard to roll back trade liberalization. Looking for the perfect AR-15 trigger? We cover the most popular from drop-in to upgraded mil-spec. Plus video of each trigger pull and fastest split times. The trigger of your AR15 is important for the gun as it affects your shooting performance. If that is the case, you then need to consider having the best AR15 triggers for the money installed in the rifle. Most of the time, the stock trigger will be okay, but if you need to unleash more power, then there is the need to have the best trigger installed. If you decide to check out some of the best triggers available, you might get confused about which to choose.
Mann told The Wall Street Journal that voters have to understand a retreat from globalization will result in higher prices for goods and services and slower growth. “If you go in the direction of closing the border, you make matters worse,” she said. “It will not bring back the jobs of those who lost them.”
The OECD also urged governments to do more in the way of taxation and spending to boost growth rather than rely on monetary policy.
