Mohamed A. El-Erian , Columnist

The Lure of Protectionism Will Grow

Low growth and rising inequality have sparked a populist backlash on both sides of the Atlantic.

September 1, 2016 at 6:30 AM UTC

Mohamed A. El-Erian is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A former chief executive officer of Pimco, he is president of Queens’ College, Cambridge; chief economic adviser at Allianz SE; and chair of Gramercy Fund Management. He is author of “The Only Game in Town.”

A harder sell.
Photographer: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

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One of the surprises of the 2008 global financial crisis is that the “great recession” that followed did not trigger much of a protectionist backlash. Developments this week suggest that, in the absence of more enlightened and coordinated political leadership, this may be changing.

As output collapsed after the financial system's "sudden stop" in the fall of 2008, and as a damaging global depression loomed, there were fears that countries would give in to the temptation to adopt protectionist trade measures as a way to promote their own growth at the expense of others.