Global economic policy uncertainty has increased sharply since the start of the year. The Global Economic Policy Uncertainty index tracks coverage of policy uncertainty in the national press across 20 countries. It’s a measure that tends to spike at times of global political or economic unrest.
Following two decades of rapid globalization and increasing interconnectedness, the global economy appears more exposed to incidents of policy uncertainty in different parts of the world. Recent bouts of political uncertainty, polarization
and rising protectionism have led to a sharp rise in the index, which currently lies well above its long-term average.
One of the main drivers of current rising levels of economic policy uncertainty has been changing trade policy in the US, as illustrated by the subindex of US trade policy uncertainty, which is currently at a near-record peak.