By Xhaxany Cuellar, Editor in Chief
On Oct. 19, World Bank Economist Dr. Phil Levy spoke with Dr. Jim King, a professor at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, via Zoom. Levy is the former Senior Economist for trade for the Bush administration and formerly the Chief Economist for FlexPort, an international logistics and consulting firm.
Currently, Levy is the Lead Trade Economist at the World Bank in Washington. The World Bank's mission is to alleviate poverty around the world. “The part that I sit in is called the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the IBRD, and that is the reconstruction development, reconstruction after the Second World War.”
The IBRD also assists countries in post-crisis or mid-crisis mode with grants or loans. Overall, the IBRD addresses the question of how countries develop and break free of the poverty trap.
King and Levy discussed the impact of recent supply chain disruptions, such as the West Coast Port Strike and Canadian Rail Strikes earlier this year. King addressed the nation's dependence on just-in-time inventories and their downsides. Additionally, King spoke on just-in-case inventories and how they can guard against unforeseen supply chain disruptions.
After the presentation students were invited to ask questions that piqued their interest in supply chain, geopolitics or economics. Carmen Ortiz asked about global trade disruption and if a particular region or industry is being affected more than others. Levy responded, “You have different industries that are sort of more or less dependent on moving goods. When you get any given shock, some industries may not be as hip as others, in terms of regions, it's less clear, because one of the things that happens is, if you're thinking about the resources get reallocated.”
Another student, Antara Rani, asked how the growth of companies like Temu affect the health of the U.S economy. Levy commented on international competition and how new entrants affect large corporations. “ It's a new source of competition, and it's something that people actually have to worry a lot about. That's very worrisome for retailers that can be great for consumers.”
