Globalisation has suffered at least three major setbacks in just over a decade. First, the global financial crisis reduced cross-border capital flows and then President Trump's trade war caught Australia's exports in the cross-fire. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has closed borders around the world. As the pace of globalisation has slowed, so has productivity growth. What is the future of globalisation after COVID-19? In the wake of the pandemic, will policymakers prioritise re-establishing global connectivity or retreat into greater self-reliance and economic nationalism? How can public policy help build greater resilience to international shocks?

To discuss these issues, USSC hosted a webinar event with Professor Douglas Irwin from Dartmouth College and Dr Stephen Kirchner, Program Director Trade and Investment with the United States Studies Centre in conversation with CEO Professor Simon Jackman.

Dr Kirchner also released his new USSC report Globalisation and Labour Productivity in the OECD: Implications for Post-Pandemic Recovery and Resilience

Douglas Irwin is John French Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College. He is the author of numerous books, including Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy, which The Economist and Foreign Affairs selected as one of their Best Books of the Year. He is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He worked on trade policy issues while on the staff of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers and was in the International Finance Division at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC.

Stephen Kirchner is Program Director Trade and Investment, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney. He is also a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute in Canada. Previously, he was an economist with the Australian Financial Markets Association, where he worked on public policy issues relating to the efficient and effective functioning of Australian financial markets and Australia’s position as a regional and international financial centre.