Author Description

Questions about the utility of globalisation are not new. Could the COVID-19 outbreak be the final nail on the coffin for an idea that drove the world economy in the past three decades? In theory, countries would produce what they specialised in, leaving it to the market to ensure everyone got a better price for it. As 2020 began, the pandemic spread from one province of China and soon disrupted production across the world. Countries banned the export of key medicines and equipment, throwing light on the hollowing out of manufacturing in developed countries. Economic trends in the past decade encouraged diversification of production away from China; another process, rooted in geopolitics, has seen the decoupling of information technology links between the US and China. COVID-19 has not only accentuated issues like re-shoring and near-shoring key industries and shortening supply chains, but has provided a push to a larger idea of "decoupling" technology ties between the US and China. This is driven largely by politics, though it has implications for the entire global economy.--Provided by author.