The failure to deliver for poorer countries and the Trumpian backlash against free trade has shaken the dominance of the liberalisers and deregulators, says Duncan Green. He reports back from a recent gathering where experts unpicked emerging themes in a chaotic time for global trade policy: including the shift away from the multilateral system to bilateral treaties; and the heartening success of countries from Rwanda to Vietnam to Ecuador that have defied the old consensus.

One of the treats of my role at LSE is luring in some great development thinkers to lecture on Friday afternoons, and then sitting in to enjoy the show. Stefan Dercon came in just before the Christmas break and was typically brilliant, witty and waspish. Particularly enjoyable from an outgoing DFID chief economist (as well as Prof at the Blavatnik