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With the emergence of new players in global trade and investment, proponents of ‘managing’ globalisation are becoming increasingly vocal. This trend is likely to accelerate as recovery from the crisis remains fragile and employment numbers weak. While the landscape of global trade is expected to change, it is not clear what role policy can play to prepare an economy to meet the ensuing challenges. The main objective of the Forum is to bring together various stakeholders to discuss evidence on how useful the concept of comparative advantage remains for trade policy and the implications of these concepts for future economic performance. Experts will examine evidence and discuss how policy can be mutually supportive to an open trading system and a flexible resource market.

Some questions that may be considered, among others, during the forum include:

• Do concepts of revealed comparative advantage apply in an era of production fragmentation and the virtual workplace?
• How has the factor content of trade changed over time? What does this imply for labour markets?
• What are the linkages between the policy landscape within a country and its comparative advantage and trade performance?
• To what extent can, and should, policies influence the evolution of comparative advantage, in other words, the competitive standing of a nation?

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