For subscribers
Populism is bad for economic growth
By proposing trade barriers and tariffs, politicians promise a return to an idealised past, but successful economic policy is focused on the future.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The populist surge in the US, with its desire to return to the past or slow down the change of the present, is what threatens America’s growth, says the writer.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Allison Schrager
Follow topic:
The degrowth movement, which had a moment a few years ago, is over – and not a moment too soon. As nations in Europe and North America face mounting debt and ageing populations, politicians are again talking about how to increase economic growth. It is their only hope.
There’s only one problem: No one is advocating policies that will actually work. Doing that would require embracing change, which is the last thing any politician beholden to populism wants to do.
