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 theories which explained the imbalances while retaining the claim that globalization is economically beneficial. This paper surveys those new theories. It contrasts them with the structural Keynesian explanation that views the imbalances as an inevitable consequence of neoliberal globalization. The paper also describes how globalization created a political economy that supported the system despite its proclivity to generate trade imbalances.
Purchase
Pay to Access Content (PDF download and unlimited online access)
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your Elgar Online account
- 1 Introduction
- 2 What are the global financial imbalances?
- 3 Mainstream economics and the problem of trade deficits
- 4 Stage 3 and 4 mainstream theory
- 5 Critique of stage 4 theory
- 6 The structural keynesian explanation of global imbalances
- The US goods and services trade deficit by business cycle peaks, 1960–2007
- The evolving political economy of the international economy
- 6.1 Barge economics: why globalization is different from free trade
- 6.2 The US economy and the evolution of neoliberal globalization
- 6.3 Economic analysis of the impact of neoliberal globalization on the US economy
- 6.4 The demand side of the structural Keynesian explanation
- 6.5 The structural Keynesian theory of hegemonic currencies
- 6.6 The structural Keynesian explanation of why capital flows north
- 6.7 The structural Keynesian explanation of low US interest rates
- 6.8 The political economy of global imbalances
- 7 Conclusions: the difficulty of change despite globalization's failings
- References
| Since 2022 | Since May 2022 | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 501 | 409 | 54 |
| Full Text Views | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| PDF Downloads | 17 | 17 | 0 |
