From Peter Carr:

Concerns about the impact of globalisation on the quality of life have been growing in recent years. While it is usually agreed that most nations have benefitted economically from the growth of globalisation, there has been increasing recognition that these benefits have been unevenly distributed with large numbers of people experiencing a deterioration in their job quality, security and pay.

The expansion of globalisation has been made possible by our use of information technology and has been accelerated by Covid-19. At the same time, it has exposed the vulnerability of individual nations that depend on supply of essential goods and services from other countries. This has led to significant policy challenges to globalisation and questions about the future development of international trade.

In this interview, Sean Speer considers these questions and argues that there is a need for policy to focus on the creation of good quality, middle class jobs.

Sean Speer is Assistant Professor in Public Policy at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He is also a Senior Fellow for fiscal policy at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, and an associate fellow at the R Street Institute.

He previously served in different roles for the federal government including as senior economic advisor to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He has been cited by The Hill Times as one of the most influential people in government and by Embassy Magazine as one of the top 80 people influencing Canadian foreign policy.

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