Economic security or financial security is the condition of having stable income or other resources to support a standard of living now and in the foreseeable future. It includes:
Without such security, people may experience its opposite: economic insecurity and resulting economic anxiety.
Financial security more often refers to individual and family money management and savings. [1] [2] Economic security tends to include the broader effect of a society's production levels and monetary support for non-working citizens.
In the United States, children's economic security is indicated by the income level and employment security of their families or organizations. [3] Economic security of people over 50 years old is based on Social Security benefits, pensions and savings, earnings and employment, and health insurance coverage. [4]
In 1972, the state legislature of Arizona formed a Department of Economic Security with a mission to promote "the safety, well-being, and self sufficiency of children, adults, and families". This department combines state government activities previously managed by the Employment Security Commission, the State Department of Public Welfare, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the State Office of Economic Opportunity, the Apprenticeship Council, and the State Office of Manpower Planning. The State Department of Mental Retardation (renamed the Division of Developmental Disabilities, House Bill 2213) joined the Department in 1974 . The purpose in creating the Department was to provide an integration of direct services to people in such a way as to reduce duplication of administrative efforts, services and expenditures. Family Connections became a part of the Department in January 2007. [5]
The Minnesota Department of Economic Security was formed in 1977 from the departments of Employment Services and Vocational Rehabilitation, the Governor's Manpower Office, and the Economic Opportunity Office, which administered anti-poverty programs. In 1985, State Services for the Blind was included in this department. In 2003, the Minnesota Department of Economic Security and Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development were merged to form The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. [6]
In the context of domestic politics and international relations, national economic security is the ability of a country to follow its choice of policies to develop the national economy in the manner desired. Historically, conquest of nations have made conquerors rich through plunder, access to new resources and enlarged trade through controlling of the economies of conquered nations. Today's complex system of international trade is characterized by multi-national agreements and mutual inter-dependence. Availability of natural resources and capacity for production and distribution are essential under this system, leading many experts to consider economic security to be as important a part of national security as military policy.
Economic security has been proposed as a key determinant of international relations, particularly in the geopolitics of petroleum in American foreign policy after 1973 oil crisis and September 11, 2001. [7]
In Canada, threats to the country's overall economic security are considered economic espionage, which is "illegal, clandestine or coercive activity by a foreign government in order to gain unauthorized access to economic intelligence, such as proprietary information or technology, for economic advantage." [8]
In January 2021, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued Strategic Action Plan to Counter the Threat Posed by China. [9]
In October 2021 in Japan, prime minister Fumio Kishida created the first-ever ministerial post for economic security. [10] And in April 2022, Japan's National Diet passed an economic security bill aimed at guarding technology and reinforcing critical supply chains, while also imposing tighter oversight of Japanese firms working in sensitive sectors or critical infrastructure. Measures in the legislation, which is primarily aimed at warding off risks from China, will be implemented over two years once it is enacted, according to the bill. [11]
In March 2023, Japan and Germany agreed to strengthen cooperation on economic security in the aftermath of tensions over global supply chains and the economic impact of Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the first high-ministerial government consultations held between the two countries, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reached out to Tokyo to seek to reduce Germany's dependence on China for imports of raw materials. [12]
On April 4, 2023, a G7 Trade Ministers' Meeting via video conference was held to discuss on enhancing economic security, and a G7 Trade Ministers' Statement was issued on the day. [13] Also in April 2023, Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) launched a division dedicated to economic security. The agency also plans to set up such dedicated units in its regional bureaus nationwide to step up efforts to prevent cutting-edge technology and data from being leaked out of the country. [14] On 20 May 2023 on occasion of the G7 Hiroshima summit, economic security was discussed for the first time as the G7 agenda, [15] and "G7 Leaders' Statement on Economic Resilience and Economic Security" was issued based on the discussion. [16]
On 20 June 2023, the European Commission and the High Representative proposed a Joint Communication on a European Economic Security Strategy which will be discussed by EU leaders at their meeting. [17]
It is widely believed that there is a tradeoff between economic security and economic opportunity. [18]
Individual economic security
National economic security
The economy of Singapore is a highly developed mixed market economy with dirigiste characteristics. Singapore's economy has been consistently ranked as the most open in the world, the joint 4th-least corrupt, and the most pro-business. Singapore has low tax-rates and the second highest per-capita GDP in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is headquartered in Singapore.
The Group of Eight (G8) was an inter-governmental political forum from 1997 until 2014. It had formed from incorporating Russia into the Group of Seven, or G7, and returned to its previous name after Russia was expelled in 2014.
Robert Bruce Zoellick is an American public official and lawyer who was the 11th president of the World Bank Group, a position he held from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2012. He was previously a managing director of Goldman Sachs, United States Deputy Secretary of State and U.S. Trade Representative, from February 7, 2001, until February 22, 2005. Zoellick has been a senior fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs since ending his term with the World Bank. He is currently a Senior Counselor at Brunswick Group.
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is organized around shared values of pluralism, liberal democracy, and representative government. G7 members are major IMF advanced economies.
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
Supply chain security activities aim to enhance the security of the supply chain or value chain, the transport and logistics systems for the world's cargo and to "facilitate legitimate trade". Their objective is to combine traditional practices of supply-chain management with the security requirements driven by threats such as terrorism, piracy, and theft. A healthy and robust supply chain absent from security threats requires safeguarding against disturbances at all levels such as facilities, information flow, transportation of goods, and so on. A secure supply chain is critical for organizational performance.
Fumio Kishida is the Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. A member of the House of Representatives, he previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017 and as acting Minister of Defense in 2017. From 2017 to 2020, he also chaired the LDP Policy Research Council.
Japanese-Ukrainian relations are formal diplomatic relations between Japan and Ukraine. Japan extended diplomatic recognition to the Ukrainian state on December 28, 1991, immediately after the breakup of the Soviet Union and full diplomatic relations were established on January 26, 1992.
The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) was a group consisting of major national financial authorities such as finance ministries, central bankers, and international financial bodies. It was first convened in April 1999 in Washington. At the 2009 G20 London summit, the G20 nations established a successor to the FSF, called the Financial Stability Board with an expanded membership and broadened mandate.
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established in the 2009 G20 Pittsburgh Summit as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum (FSF). The Board includes all G20 major economies, FSF members, and the European Commission. Hosted and funded by the Bank for International Settlements, the board is based in Basel, Switzerland, and is established as a not-for-profit association under Swiss law.
The U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) was a high-level dialogue for the United States and China to discuss a wide range of regional and global strategic and economic issues between both countries. The establishment of the S&ED was announced on April 1, 2009, by U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao. The upgraded mechanism replaced the former Senior Dialogue and Strategic Economic Dialogue started under the George W. Bush administration. High-level representatives of both countries and their delegations will met annually at capitals alternating between the two countries.
The 41st G7 summit was held in Schloss Elmau, Krün, Bavaria, Germany on 7–8 June 2015. In March 2014 the remaining members of the G8 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia, and since then meetings have continued under the G7 name.
The 47th G7 summit was held from 11 to 13 June 2021 in Cornwall, England, during the United Kingdom's tenure of the presidency of the Group of Seven (G7), an inter-governmental political forum of seven advanced nations.
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The Blue Dot Network (BDN) is a multilateral organisation that promotes a certification framework for quality infrastructure projects. The initiative is a joint project of the governments of Australia, the Czech Republic, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States that supports investment in high-quality infrastructure projects around the world, especially by the private sector.
The foreign policy of the Joe Biden administration emphasizes the repair of the United States' alliances, which Biden argues were damaged during the Trump administration. The administration's goal is to restore the United States to a "position of trusted leadership" among global democracies in order to address challenges posed by Russia and China. Both Biden and his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have repeatedly emphasized that no other world power should be able to surpass the United States, either militarily or economically. Biden's foreign policy has been described as having ideological underpinnings in mid-twentieth century liberal internationalism, American exceptionalism, and pragmatism.
The 48th G7 summit was held from 26 to 28 June 2022 in Schloss Elmau, Krün, Bavarian Alps, Germany. Germany previously hosted a G7 summit in 2015 at Schloss Elmau.
G7 and G8 ministerial meetings are meetings of the government ministers of the G7 and G8 countries. G7 summit meetings originated in an ad hoc gathering of finance ministers in 1973.
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The 49th G7 summit was held from 19 to 21 May 2023 in the city of Hiroshima in Hiroshima Prefecture.