In The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling into Disorder, Eswar Prasad argues that we are caught in a destructive feedback loop between economics, domestic politics, and geopolitics.

Prasad is a professor of Trade Policy and Economics at Cornell University, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. In his new book, he explores how globalization, international institutions, the rise of “middle power” countries, and technological innovations had the potential to promote shared prosperity—but instead are driving global instability.

In his conversation with Nikolaus Lang, global leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses the breakdown of the rule-based system, implications for trade policy in Europe and elsewhere, and the role AI plays in driving global instability.

Key topics discussed: 

[01:20] The doom loop driving global instability
[06:41] The positive aspects of globalization and middle powers
[12:02] Implications for European trade policy
[15:51] The breakdown of the rule-based system
[18:36] The role of AI and other technologies in the doom loop
[23:57] Reasons for remaining optimistic

Additional inspirations from Eswar Prasad:

• The Future of Money: How the Digital Revolution Is Transforming Currencies and Finance (Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press, 2023)