A coalition of more than fifty leading economists and policy-experts have formally introduced a paradigm-setting publication titled The London Consensus: Economic Principles for the 21st Century, aiming to replace core tenets of the late-20th-century Washington Consensus and respond to the global economic and political fractures. The project was convened at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), sponsored under the school’s public-policy programme. One of the editors described the initiative as an effort “to ask what we have learned since 1990” and to develop guidance for a dramatically changed world.

The Washington Consensus, originally formulated in 1989, advocated fiscal discipline, liberal trade, privatisation and deregulation as the recipe for economic success in emerging markets. The new volume argues, however, that many of those prescriptions have proven incomplete in light of deepening inequality, weakened democratic institutions, fragmentation of global supply-chains, technological upheaval and the accelerating climate crisis. The London Consensus emphasises a set of guiding principles rather than a fixed formula, and stresses that policy prescriptions must be adapted to local political, institutional and social conditions.

Among its key propositions, the London Consensus elevates wellbeing—as measured through mental-health, community participation and opportunity—not simply gross domestic product growth, as the central indicator of progress. It asserts that high inequality impedes economic and social progress, not only by constraining the lives of the poor but by reducing mobility, undermining trust and weakening institutions. The book also argues for a reinvigorated role of the state in settings where markets alone cannot deliver inclusive prosperity—with targeted universal public services, taxes calibrated for fairness, and investment in infrastructure, education and environmental resilience. At the same time it cautions against rigid one-size-fits-all reform agendas, insisting that nations must tailor their strategy to their history and institutional capacity.

The timing of the book’s launch is significant. At a moment when the Donald Trump-style “America First” agenda has taken centre stage—eschewing free-trade multilateralism, favouring tariffs, deregulation and nationalist financial policies—it is implicitly positioned as a counter-narrative. The book’s authors highlight that Trump’s approach to economic policy embraces deregulation and privatised markets while rejecting the open-trade, anti-corruption and anti-trust frameworks of the Washington Consensus. By contrast, the London Consensus is pitched as “a timely challenge to Trump’s isolationism” and to the growing populist retreat from liberal market doctrines.

During preparation, the economists gathered for a conference at the LSE in 2023 and grouped their work under themes such as the future of work, climate-technology transitions, global trade and the welfare state. Editors such as Sir Tim Besley and Andrés Velasco have noted that the London Consensus “stresses that economic policies must be politically legitimate, credible, and democratically owned by voters if they are to endure.” The editors emphasise that the volume is not a rigid manifesto but a conversation-starter, helping policymakers weigh evidence and craft national strategies suited to their context.

While the Washington Consensus largely celebrated trade liberalisation and privatisation, the new London framework reverses the hierarchy: it embraces open markets and competition but places equality, resilience and civic inclusion at the heart of policy. It highlights the contemporary challenges: stagnant good-job creation in many middle-income nations, soaring housing and energy costs, ageing populations, and a mental-health burden that travels across incomes and societies. By redirecting attention toward social outcomes, community cohesion and sustainable growth, the London Consensus seeks to influence the policy agenda for the next decade.

The editors say they hope the book will be read by senior policy-makers, state governors and prime ministers worldwide, and that it may mark the moment when the global economic conversation shifts away from purely liberal market dogma to a more balanced, evidence-based and inclusive roadmap for the twenty-first century.