Migratory problems and those arising from unstoppable urbanisation have also become priorities given their implications for economic, social and environmental development. With all these ingredients, the author’s main line of argument in the book is that globalisation, bound up with intense technological changes and the deregulation of economies, has contributed to generating uneven economic growth, a prevalence of the financial over the real economy, a concentration of market power in major corporations (which has stifled competition) and a deterioration in the environment. These are the “excesses” to which the title of the book refers. And, according to Professor Ontiveros, they must be tackled by reformulating the capitalist system and the multilateral governance framework. With this reformulation, Professor Ontiveros suggests governments and public institutions should play a more active role when regulatorily mitigating market failings and oversee compliance with the rules. In his view, that would also serve to ensure the use and efficient, but fair, distribution of resources along with more inclusive and sustainable growth. 2. Some thoughts I would like to delve now into some of these aspects which, admittedly, are essential for preventing the threats so rightly identified by Professor Ontiveros from materialising. We should not forget that the Bretton Woods Agreements, and the principles of universality and cooperation underpinning them, were the multilateral and cooperative response to the unilateral protectionist measures pursued in the 1930s and which exacerbated a situation of severe economic contraction.

As I recently remarked1, the pillars acting as a basis for  1  See the opening address “Global imbalances and capital flows in the era of new technologies”, at the conference bearing the same name organised by the Banco de España and the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee. Available at https://www.bde.es/f/webbde/GAP/Secciones/SalaPrensa/IntervencionesPublicas/Gobernador/Arc/Fic/hdc100919.pdf. 2  fundamental institutions for the global economy such as the WTO and the IMF were complemented by certain mechanisms and procedures. The aim thereby was to ensure they fulfilled their mission and to resolve potential conflicts on the basis of the principles of justice and equity for all the participating States. Such arrangements have, for decades, enabled the containment of certain unilateral actions. From my standpoint, and taking stock, the liberalisation of trade and financial exchanges in recent decades under these institutions has made, and continues to make, a net positive contribution to global growth. This has, moreover, helped improve substantially the opportunities for development, especially in the poorest countries, drastically reducing inequality and extreme poverty globally, at least at a pace never previously seen. Accordingly, these principles and institutions are, for me, as necessary today as they were then. However, the world has seen far-reaching change in the past 75 years. Currently, the setting of rapid transformation means some adjustments are needed to update international economic governance. Specifically, one of the key challenges at present is to improve the adaptation of the multilateral rules-based system in force since the Bretton Woods Agreements to the current circumstances and to future challenges.