Brexit Metaphor No 11
Some Brexiteers claim Britain after Brexit can be a global and prosperous trading nation off the coast of Western Europe: just like Japan, off the coast of East Asia. There are a few differences though. One major disparity is Japan's size: twice bigger than Britain. Imagine if France and the UK were a single country: they would need to trade less externally, as they would be trading more amongst themselves.
The other peculiar feature of Japan's economic success is that once it had created its own informal version of EFTA, it held on to it. Japan's "EFTA" is known as the "Flying Geese Model": as Japan industrialised, it was gradually transferring industries with lower value added to swathes of neighbours: first to Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore; then to Malaysia and Thailand; then to Indonesia; and last to China (which almost broke the model). In contrast, the UK is not at the front of any flock of flying birds (although the City of London has pervasive presence in European finance).
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| Map of Madagascar (Source: Wikipedia) |
Take the other island in this metaphor: Madagascar. Thanks to its relative isolation, it is the only major peaceful country in the world that has failed to see any increase in living standards over the last 5-6 decades.
Britain seems to be facing interesting choices of economic models for the future: the reality will probably be less extreme than Japan or Madagascar, but hopefully not as troubled as Puerto Rico either.
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(This article is part of a daily series, with 150 more Brexit Metaphors to follow until Brexit day, March 29, 2019.)
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