Problems with a World without Economic Leadership

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England used to set the economic agenda for the rest of the world and it provided public goods like free trade, property rights etc. which enabled the world economy to grow. The US replaced England in this role and its influence on the G7, the world's largest economies, provided similar leadership. Today, the G7 has been replaced by the G20, which includes countries that do not share similar ideas about democracy, the role of government in the economy and how to respond to climate change. The US has seen its authority erode along with the role of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. China is on the rise but it is not ready to assume the role that England and the US had played in providing public goods. The world economy lacks focus and leadership and the rise of political partisanship exacerbates the problems of coming to agreement on many of our important issues that require international agreement. We should be concerned about an economic environment which seems similar to those in the past that have led to disaster. A world without positive economic leadership is a dangerous world.