The secular and seemingly nonreversible increase in global unemployment is linked to the operation of the international financial system. In particular, two changes in the system that originated in the late 1970s have exacerbated problems of global unemployment. The first is the increased international mobility of capital as a result of the relaxation of previous controls. The second is the dramatic increase in the global trade in currencies, currency futures, and a wide variety of “derivative” instruments. It follows that reforms of the international financial system would again make it possible for the world economy to make significant progress in reducing unemployment.
