Richard Baldwin

Economist, Authority on Globalisation, Trade Fragmentation & the New Geography of Work

headshot Richard-Baldwin-Economist (1).png

Richard Baldwin is best known for explaining globalisation as a technology-driven process and for showing why that process is now being re-engineered.

An economist and leading authority on international trade, Baldwin examines how digital connectivity, automation, and geopolitics have reshaped where work is done, how value is created, and which countries capture it. His work reminds leaders that globalisation was never static: first driven by transport, then by communication, and now by intelligence embedded in machines and platforms.

As supply chains shorten, services unbundle, and political risk reasserts itself, Baldwin explains why we are not entering a post-global world but a different one. His insight helps leaders understand how localisation, remote work, and trade fragmentation fit into a single structural shift, rather than a series of disconnected shocks.

Signature Keynotes

  • Why trade is changing shape, not disappearing.

  • How digital tools rewire work and trade.

  • Understanding today’s economic reordering.

  • Who gains and why.

  • Leading when rules are in flux.

The Baldwin Effect

Globalisation is understood as a technological system.

Leaders leave able to:

  • See trade and localisation as outcomes of technology, not ideology

  • Understand how digital tools are reshaping where work happens

  • Anticipate fragmentation without assuming collapse

  • Read supply chains, services, and labour through the same lens

  • Make strategic decisions grounded in structural change

Why Book Richard

Richard Baldwin brings rare clarity to one of the most misunderstood transitions of our time. His thinking is trusted by governments, institutions, and global businesses navigating trade disruption, reshoring, and the digital unbundling of work where assumptions built for the 1990s no longer apply.

Explore More Globalisation & Megatrends Speakers

Noreena Hertz: World-renowned economist, bestselling author, and keynote speaker

Nina Schick: AI & Geopolitics Expert, Author of 'Deepfakes' GenAI Strategist

Rory Stewart: Professor of Grand Strategy & Podcaster, Former UK Cabinet Minister

Dr Kjell A. Nordström: Global Business Guru and Author

Dr Samir Puri: Geopolitics & Security Expert, Associate at Chatham House

Dr Rebecca Harding: Trade Economist & CEO, Expert on Economic Security & ESG