Shifting the Focus: The New Political Economy of Global Macroeconomic Imbalances

The economic crisis has shifted the emphasis in the debate about macroeconomic imbalances. Where once the attention focused on deficit countries, and the United States in particular, now it centers more on surplus countries like China. The argument is that these surplus countries have fostered the crisis through their single-minded determination to pursue export-led growth. They have also distorted their domestic economies along the way. Moreover, the deficit countries cannot resolve their imbalances acting alone. The time has come to reconsider the wisdom of export-led growth strategies both in the developing world and elsewhere. If accepted, these arguments will have important implications for how the world economy is reformed.