The Lloyd’s List Podcast: The next phase of globalisation
Listen to the latest edition of the Lloyd’s List’s weekly podcast — your free weekly briefing on the stories shaping shipping
The era of the long-distance value chain was waning long before Trump, Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, and the current congestion and supply crunch have only further exposed the fragility of the just-in-time threads that hold the global economy together. What happens next will define shipping trade lanes and the industry itself. The renowned historian, economist and author Marc Levinson joins the podcast this week to discuss the supply chain crunch and the future of shipping
IS globalisation over? Not by any stretch. Rather it has entered a new stage. While globalisation is retreating with respect to factory production and foreign investment, it is advancing quickly when it comes to the flow of services and ideas.
That’s the basic thesis of our guest this week on the Lloyd’s List Podcast — the renowned historian, economist and author Marc Levinson.
His book Outside the Box – How globalisation changed from moving stuff to spreading ideas presents an unorthodox history of globalisation. It shows that the international economic relationships we have known since the late 1980s, based on intricate long-distance value chains, are only a stage in the process of globalisation — a stage that was waning long before Trump, Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.
But he contends that globalisation is far from over; rather, it is moving into a stage in which the flow of ideas and services will be much more important than the flow of boxes filled with goods.
