Brad Setser Chronicles the Decline of Globalization in Financial Terms

At the Council on Foreign Relations, Brad Seltser chronicles the decline of financial globalization.  What would a technocrat do?  One thing is to minimize dirigisme that beggers neighbors and to look for opportunities to reward participants in global free trade.  Pricing systems will not do this in the short term.  Another factor that must be addressed is some concept of how much a nation may borrow and how much a nation may lend.  There ought to be technocratic guidelines at minimum.  Pricing seems not to work.  Rating agencies are risible.

Can we be far from a global currency?  How would that work?  How would money be created?  What would stand behind global value?  Without trust…the destroyed ingredient in the current crisis, what can be done?