Macro-Finance Salon (No. 50): Warning of Anti-globalization
2017-02-25 IMI
From the characteristics of globalization, Mr. Yu pointed out that polarization between the rich and the poor was the primary cause for globalization being increasingly opposed, and with a large number of data and charts, he discussed in detail about inequality in the U.S., Europe and China. He also pointed out that inequality in the U.S. was mainly manifested in the unbalanced share of the benefits brought by globalization among different social classes. He mentioned that this problem was caused by the decline of the income of the middle and lower working class in the U.S., the poor class mobility and the decrease of social welfare. Then, He turned his attention to Europe, analyzed the incongruity among unemployment rate, financial profit and loss, salvage mechanism and other aspects in European countries. Moreover, that the population couldn’t flow has made the prospect of European integration remains in doubt. He argued that the problem of globalization in Europe lied in the fact that countries and regions hadn’t shared balanced benefit, leading to an increasingly serious thought of division and even stimulating populism and anti-globalization thought. Finally, Yu analyzed the inequality in China from the perspectives of income distribution, medical care, education and social security, and compared it with that of the developed countries in Europe and America. Yu thought that China's inequality was mainly reflected in the classes, regions, and urban and rural. He believed that China should make the most of its system advantages, pay attention to the balanced development of all classes, especially the living condition of the lower class, so as to realize common prosperity.
In the discussion, Prof. Chen Binkai affirmed Yu Pingkang's view and futher shared the inequality in developing countries. He clearly pointed out the close relationship between fairness of income distribution and rapid economic growth, social stability and institutional reform in developing countries, and explained the negative impact of income disparity on urban and rural areas, regions and industries.
Mr. Yu also shared his expectation of the macro economy and the capital market in 2017 and explained the core logic behind the view, emphasizing the importance of deepening reform for the future trend of China’s economy. Finally, Yu communicated with the guests present and the listeners of IMI Live on issues such as medium-income traps and equal opportunities.
