The Series on Global Trade & Manufacturing
Improve your mental model of the world with these articles I have written before
Besides talking about Africa, I also talk a lot about global trade & US manufacturing since there are so many myths and incorrect things when trade is discussed.
Article #1:
Some Basics on U.S. Manufacturing
Is American manufacturing in decline? The answer is: “Yes” if you mean US manufacturing’s shrinking percentage of GDP, if you mean the declining number of manufacturing jobs, or if you mean America losing its lead in being the World’s largest manufacturer. The answer is “
In this article I talk about the de-industrialization of the West, from America, New Zealand, and Germany, all of these economies have transitioned from manufacturing economies to service economies.
Article #2 (Click Link Below)
The Global Commodity Cycle's Effect on Africa & the BRICS
Several African nations have abundant natural resources but is mired in poverty. How? I want to give a more analytical and detailed answer than simply “exploitation”. Typically, countries don’t become high-income from exporting commodities but from adding complexities to their economy: car manufacturing, military weapons, tire production, engine assembl…
In this article I discuss why exporting commodities doesn’t lead to sustained economic growth, and I explain why commodity dependence has affected South Africa, Brazil, and Russia from not growing as fast as India or China (nations that don’t depend on exporting commodities to grow).
Article #3 (Click Link Below)
The Rust Belt
Even though my manufacturing & trade articles don’t get a lot of viewership compared to my geopolitics or Africa articles, I want to focus more those topics because I think “normal smart people” might have subpar framework of trade & manufacturing. I only have a “petitely above average” understanding because I used to be an engineer for an aircraft man…
In this article, I discuss how Akron, Ohio in the United States went from one of the premier manufacturing hubs to a “rust belt”. The reason isn’t because “we exported labor to China”, the reason was because of losing to foreign competition from Western Europe and Japan in the 70s and 80s.
Article 4 (Click Link Below)
African Resources & Commodity Markets
In many articles about Africa’s resources, and it’s common to read statements like “DRC has so much cobalt!” or “Ghana produces so much Gold!” or “France explores former colony Niger for its uranium!”. However, these articles often fail to provide a comparison of the African country's actual dominance in that commodity market or…
In this article, I attack the African reddit meme “Why are we so poor, we have so many resources?” That meme needs to die because it leads to a fundamental misunderstanding about commodity markets.
Article #5
Who Dominates Global Trade?
Contrary to what many Americans may think, America no longer dominates global trade. Here’s data as of 2021. China is #1, America is #2 in global trade, and Germany is a distant third. However, I put every European Union nation in orange. Since we are talking about global trade, it would make more sense to think of nations in trade blocs. If we reexamine…
In this article, I discuss how the world hasn’t really globalized but instead “regionalized”. East Asia & Pacific, North America, and Europe are responsible for 85% of global trade. Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Russia, Central Asia, and South Asia make the up the other 15%.
Article #6:
Regionalization in Global Trade
Last time in my article on Who Dominates Global Trade. I spoke about how there are three main regions of trade: Europe, Asia, and North America. These three hubs make 85% of global trade: as of 2021, European Union, UK & Switzerland make up 38% …
This article is about Interregional trade. Europe, East Asia, and North America make up 85% of global trade, but also 66% of European trade is within Europe, 50% of East Asian trade is within East Asia, and 40% of North American trade is within North America. The other regions of the world are not nearly as regionalized.
#7
How Many Nations Embraced Globalized,Free Trade?
In America, there is a prevalent narrative that emphasizes the transformative influence of globalized, free trade on the American economy. From both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, you heard that free trade destroyed American jobs due to America’s “un-fettered, ideological commitment to f…