For roughly a quarter century after the Cold War, the Washington consensus or neoliberalism guided US foreign economic policymaking. Today, that market-oriented consensus is in tatters, as Republicans and Democrats alike have shifted toward government intervention, including industrial policy, and away from free trade.
In this roundtable discussion, leading experts took stock of these developments and their international implications.
Stephanie J Rickard (@sjrickard.bsky.social) is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Government at LSE. For over fifteen years, she has researched issues related to the international political economy, including trade agreements and international financial rescues. In her award-winning book, Spending to Win, Rickard investigates how economic geography influences countries' economic policies and international economic relations.
Andrés Velasco (@AndresVelasco) is Professor of Public Policy and Dean of the School of Public Policy at LSE. In 2017-19 he was a member of the G20 Eminent Persons Group. During 2015-16 he co-chaired the Global Panel on the Future of the Multilateral Lending Institutions. In 2013-16 he was a member of the Global Oceans Commission.
Robert Wade is Professor of Political Economy and Development in Department of International Development at LSE. Professor Wade worked at Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, 1972-95, World Bank, 1984-88, Princeton Woodrow Wilson School 1989/90, MIT Sloan School 1992, Brown University 1996-2000. Fieldwork in Pitcairn Is, Italy, India, Korea, Taiwan.
Peter Trubowitz (@ptrubowitz) is Professor of International Relations and Director of the Phelan US Centre at LSE and Associate Fellow at Chatham House.
This event was held on 11 February 2025