CSIS-GRIPS-RSIS Webinar by Dr Pradumna Bickram Rana

While some prominent commentators have concluded that globalisation is “dead”, the data on the state of globalisation presents a mixed picture. This is partly because globalisation comprises many different dimensions that could move in different directions: cross-border flows of trade, investment, finance, data, ideas, technology, and people including workers and tourists. This presentation uses the global trade openness index – defined as the sum of world exports plus imports divided by world GDP – a reasonable and commonly-used proxy for economic integration, to assess trends in globalisation. The webinar will examine different phases of globalisation and de-globalisation in the modern period and examine how recent factors (including COVID-19) have led to a new wave of de-globalisation since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. Finally, the webinar will discuss whether recent trends spell the end of globalisation, or just a partial reversal that might be resolved with time.