CIAO DATE: 03/2011
February 2011
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The current emphasis on global rebalancing—which aims to reduce trade deficits and surpluses—is misguided. Trade deficits and surpluses narrowed significantly during the Great Recession, can be financed and eased over time, and are largely the result of domestic forces—making further global rebalancing unlikely. While the obsession with global rebalancing stokes currency and protectionist tensions, it diverts attention from what is really needed—reforms at home. Rather than focusing on global rebalancing, countries should concentrate more on fixing their domestic problems and expanding their domestic demand at the maximum sustainable rate.
Resource link: Global Rebalancing: The Dangerous Obsession [PDF] - 351K