Growing competition between global powers, in search of economic security and leadership, has contributed to a highly fragmented global economy. Trends including countries increasingly imposing trade barriers such as tariffs, technological decoupling, and the disruption of capital flows currently show few signs of easing. This is happening against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions and an overall shift towards multipolarity. The economic costs of fragmentation are high, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimating that increased international trade restrictions may shrink global output by up to 7% over the long term, amounting to $7.4 trillion.
Yet this economic splintering is coinciding with a unique opportunity to start building much more productive, inclusive and sustainable economies around the world. Such intelligent economies are anchored in exponential…
