Spain spearheads the first meeting of the Global Council on the New Economy of the 21st Century

The First Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, together with the economist Mariana Mazzucato, chaired the first meeting of the Global Council on the New Economy of the 21st Century, a forum for developing and promoting policies capable of responding to the transformation of the global economy.

Comprising leading progressive economists from the Global North and South, including Joseph Stiglitz, Jayati Ghosh, Ha-Joon Chang and Isabella Weber, the Council was established to offer a rigorous and progressive alternative set of policies aimed at fostering growth that is compatible with reducing inequality, accelerating the green transition and strengthening democracy

Presented at the Global Progressive Mobilisation in Barcelona on 18 April, the Council devoted this first virtual session to setting out its work priorities, including the role of public investment, industrial policy, the creation of quality jobs and the distribution of the value generated by artificial intelligence.

Members agreed on the need to dismantle false trade-offs inherited from the past, such as the opposition between fiscal discipline and social investment, or the assumption that markets are self-correcting, and instead promote a more holistic, dynamic vision of the global economy.

"This Economic and Social Council has the opportunity to devise policies with a significant social impact that redefine the social contract in the face of the transformation the global economy is undergoing, driven by new technologies and geopolitical fragmentation", said Vice-president Carlos Cuerpo.

According to Mazzucato, a professor at University College London (UCL), "economic orthodoxy has failed to provide security and opportunities for the majority. This Council exists to translate the evidence of what really works - purposeful public investment, well-structured labour markets, and a green transition seen as an opportunity rather than a cost - into a new economy for the common good that finance ministers can put into practice".

The Council will produce reports, case studies and opinion pieces, amongst other works, to promote policies capable of tackling the major challenges of our time and to demonstrate the positive effects of progressive economic policies.

Spain is the first host country for the Council, which will hold its first in-person meeting in October, coinciding with the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Thailand, with the participation of other finance ministers and representatives of civil society.

Non official translation