Nobel laureate in economics says the US snubbed China’s economic and global potential

Economist and Nobel Prize winner, Joseph Stiglitzdiscusses the ongoing changes and challenges of globalization and economic policies.

During an interview with Valorwhere he was asked to submit his questions in advance, Stiglitz expressed optimism about the shift in global perception regarding trade rules, a central theme in his critique of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and globalization.

In a context where inflation USA showed signs of stabilization, the economist pointed to the validation of his view that rising prices were a “transitory” condition, related to problems in supply chains, contradicting other perspectives that predicted a necessary increase in unemployment to control inflation.

Stiglitz, who previously served as chairman of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers and as chief economist at the Banco worldalso reflected on the challenges faced by the United States and other Western countries in adapting to a world in which China has become an important trading power.

He criticizes the lack of transparency in the Chinese system and the ineffectiveness of the global trading system, exacerbated by the US refusal to approve new judges for the US appeals body. World Trade Organization (WTO).

“In many aspects, due to the lack of transparency in their system, we don’t know completely,” he said.

Nobel also admitted that even without subsidies, China “could beat the competition simply because of the scale of its economy and the number of engineers it has. We invest little in engineering and they invest a lot, and this is not a commercial violation.

It’s a strategic mistake [nosso]. They have put themselves at a comparative advantage and we still don’t accept that,” she added.

The interview also addressed issues of deindustrialization in the West and policies to create green industrial jobs in the US, such as manufacturing electric cars and solar panels, facing the challenge of Chinese imports.

Stiglitz sees climate policy as a field where regulations can be more effective than subsidies, citing the example of China and its rapid advancement in electric vehicle production.

Furthermore, the economist analyzed recent US economic policy under the administration of Joe Bidenwhich adopted pro-worker measures, reflecting some of Stiglitz’s views on the need for a greater focus on the well-being of citizens over corporate interests.

“If we had done nothing other than normalize interest rates to 3%, 3.5%, 4%, inflation today would be a little different than it is,” he declared.

“Inevitably there will be variations from month to month… But inflation fell dramatically – as ‘the side of the transitory thesis’ had predicted –, without unemployment increasing as economists who defended another thesis said was necessary”, he amended.

Stiglitz is currently promoting his new book, “The Road to Freedom“, which examines the conception of freedom in the United States, contrasting it with European economic practices that, according to him, offer better living conditions, despite lower economic growth and technological innovation when adjusted for demographics.