According to the WTO, a significant outbreak of trade protectionism has been avoided since the start of the crisis: the new trade-restricting or distorting measures introduced between October 2008 and October 2009 accounted together for 0.8% of world imports, while those adopted between September 2009 and February 2010 amounted to an additional 0.4% of world imports.
*** My second lesson is that in an environment of high uncertainty, like the one associated with the inflation shocks resulting from a post-pandemic recovery, a solid macroeconomic framework, including a prudent and data-based monetary policy approach, and deep and liquid financial markets are essential. Across the world, the conduct of monetary policy faces an acute challenge nowadays.