Globalization disrupted: Prebisch, trade imbalances and the future of the global economy

This article presents an analysis of globalization since the 2008 global crisis. Amid sluggish growth and weakened global trade in goods relative to the hyperglobalization boom of the 1990s and 2000s, the international economy is undergoing a process not of deglobalization so much as polyglobalization, characterized by the rising decentralization of global economic governance, multipolarity, geoeconomics and the return of industrial policy. Recalling the legacy of Raúl Prebisch with respect to the critical role that industrial policy played in development success stories, exemplified by the Republic of Korea, I argue that successful industrial policy must both boost exports and strike a harmonious balance between autonomy and public-private integration in State-market relationships.