Highlights video: 'The third wave of globalisation' UK launch

'The third wave of globalisation' UK launch was held at Standard Chartered on 7 January 2012. Lord Mandelson was joined on the panel by Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered, IPPR's Will Straw and chair Nick Pearce, also of IPPR.

Lyons highlighted that 'the world economy has grown by 14 per cent, some of this is inflation [but the] majority has been economic growth lead by China and by the so-called emerging economies' like India and Indonesia. Lord Mandelson followed this by saying that 'it's not a North Atlantic show anymore'. Lord Mandelson also mentioned that Europe’s social model 'needs to be reformed to reflect the way that the world and Europe have changed over the past 60 years'.

New video: Lord Mandelson speaks to Reuters about globalisation's 'third wave'

Lord Mandelson helped to launch IPPR's major report on the future of globalisation at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Afterwards he appeared with economist Joseph Stiglitz on Reuters TV's Freeland File to argue that 'globalisation is far better than protectionism' as long as it's 'supported by smart policies domestically and proper and good rules globally'.

IPPR publishes evidence submissions

IPPR received a number of submissions following the call for evidence issued by Lord Mandelson in June 2011.

Please feel free to download the submissions of:

• Ambassador Keiichi Hayashi, Japan
• TUC (the Trades Union Congress, UK)
• Rachel Griffith and Helen Miller, Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK

Memo from India

Lord Mandelson and IPPR director Nick Pearce recently led a delegation to meet Indian business and political leaders in Mumbai and Delhi, a fascinating trip reviewed in the short memo, Shiva's India, by IPPR associate director Will Straw. Like the deity Shiva, India itself is increasingly characterised by ambiguity and paradox.

Memo from China

The first published output of the Future of Globalisation project – China in the global economy – was released on Monday 25 July. This memo reports back on IPPR's delegation to Beijing and Chongqing, including the major issues covered in discussions with political leaders and economic players, with a focus on how British firms can take advantage of the opportunities China offers.

Globalisation in the North

Peter Mandelson travelled with Newsnight's Paul Mason to the north of England, to discuss the effects of globalisation on the local economy and job market at the Port of Tyne, a local authority and a further education college.

Mandelson on Britain in China

Visiting China as part of IPPR's work on the future of globalisation, Lord Mandelson reflects on the dramatic changes in the country and its economy, and remarks on the geographical and social imbalances in its remarkable growth. Calling on British firms to be on the "front foot" in China, he identifies the UK's high-quality professional services and creative industries as key players alongside established industrial and manufacturing interests. China invests in long-term relationships, he says, and Britain must do likewise. Turning to China itself, Lord Mandelson highlights the need to ensure its cities can attract business talent, and called on the nation to "lead in its own name" in the international arena.

Read more from IPPR's Will Straw, who joined Lord Mandelson in China, about perceptions of globalisation in Britain and around the world.

View from Beijing

Lord Mandelson leads a delegation to China as part of IPPR's Future of Globalisation project and hears the views of a rising political star that London will remain a pre-eminent financial centre.

“London cannot be replaced as the financial centre of the world,” declared Chinese Vice Premier, Wang Qishan, in a meeting today with Lord Mandelson in Beijing. IPPR is visiting China as part of our research programme on the future of globalisation, which was launched in March. The meeting with Mr Wang – tipped by many to be a core figure in the upcoming fifth generation of the Communist Party of China leadership – came at the end of two intensive days of meetings with party leaders, policymakers and academics in Beijing.

Discussing the relationship between Britain and China, Mr Wang called on the two countries to increase their business ties. Responding to a question from Lord Mandelson on the role of the City of London, he said "the internationalisation of the Renminbi will be a long process" but joked that "if you get the news that we are using London as our offshore centre [for foreign exchange] it will signal the start of our efforts".

Lord Mandelson in discussion with Vice Premier Wang Qishan

Earlier meetings included conversations with Yu Hongjun, Vice Minister of the International Department, and Liu He, a key advisor on finance and economics who developed much of China’s recently published 12th five-year plan. Lord Mandelson and the IPPR delegation – which includes Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent, Tristram Hunt – also held roundtable discussions with a newly founded think tank called the Research Centre for the Contemporary World, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission which manages 122 of China’s state-owned enterprises, and the Centre for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University.

Among the topics discussed was the ambition of China’s five-year plan in transforming the economy away from what Mr Wang described as his country’s “unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable growth”. Chief among the challenges facing China are the roles of the state-owned enterprises. A key internal debate within China in years to come will be over the pace and nature of reform of these institutions.

IPPR’s delegation also discussed opportunities for Britain, which has a significant export gap with China compared to its overall share of world trade. In years to come, China’s attempts to create a social safety net will present opportunities for British businesses in the education, healthcare, pharmaceutical, pensions,legal services and insurance sectors. But China will also need to ensure that internal reforms improve its position in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index where it currently sits in 79th place. In relation to China's role in global economic governance, Mr Wang was clear that China continued to see an "early harvest" of the Doha round and the G20's continued focus on the global recovery as priorities.

The delegation heads to the world’s most populous metropolis, Chongqing, to meet with Party Secretary Bo Xilai and to hold meetings with a series of British and American businesses including Hewlett Packard.

IPPR issues call for evidence on globalisation

IPPR’s nine-month research project on the future of globalisation is now well underway, and IPPR is today launching a call for evidence. We want to encourage academics, business leaders, and policymakers to share their experiences and help us think about how to address all the various challenges.

We will be looking at four areas in particular:

– Britain and the BRICs

– The impact of globalisation in the UK

– Globalisation and the world’s poorest

– Global economic governance

Interested parties are invited to send submissions (of up to 4,000 words, although longer submissions will also be welcome) tackling one or more of the specific questions listed below. Submissions containing the most innovative ideas and best analysis will be published on the IPPR website and included in an anthology along with the final report.

The call for evidence will be open for three months and will close on 7 September.

 Download full details of the call for evidence. For more information please contact Alex Glennie or Will Straw.

Mission to Brazil

Lord Mandelson, former EU trade commissioner and UK cabinet minister and IPPR associate director Will Straw travelled to Brazil to hear the perspective of local experts. The following is Will Straw's report on the mission.

Brazil is an increasingly self-confident country. Having just overtaken Italy as the world’s seventh largest economy, even if growth is brought down from its current rate of 7.5% to the desired 5.5% it won’t be long before Brazil overtakes Britain and France and becomes the world’s fifth largest economy.

The signs are good. Having survived largely unscathed from the financial crisis, the private sector is booming. The infrastructure needs of a country hosting the World Cup and Olympics in the next five years mean that the state-run Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES) is on course to increase its investment levels by 20% per annum for four years. The successful Bolsa Familia (family allowance) policy has helped reduce inequality, cut poverty levels, and created 50 million consumers in the “new middle class”. Brazil’s resource rich economy mean that despite increased imports from China, it still has a modest trade surplus.

 Read more [PDF]

Event review: Globalisation

This event marked the launch of a major new project by IPPR on the future of globalisation. Lord Mandelson considered the policy and political challenges posed by globalisation for countries like the UK, the prospects for the WTO and other global economic institutions, and the task facing the centre-left in defining a new agenda for globalisation in the coming decades.

Read the text of Lord Mandelson's speech
Download the accompanying presentation

Media

Lord Mandelson on BBC's Newsnight, 10 March 2011
'Mandelson Reveals UK's £27bn Export Gap', Sky News, 11 March 2011
'Lord Mandelson: Exports could hit £27bn', Evening Standard, 11 March 2011
'Mandelson, Unions and Globalisation', Tim Page on TUC Touchstone blog, 11 March 2011