Economic consequences of Trump presidency huge, Stiglitz says

Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz has warned that the United States economy could be hit if Donald Trump becomes the next president of the country.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Stiglitz said that the expected imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods could lead to the loss of jobs in America and a trade war.

Stiglitz was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, serving as a member of Bill Clinton's cabinet between 1995 and 1997.

The impact on the conomy would be immediate, Stiglitz said. "It would be a trade war. China would only do it selectively and the probability is that there would be more jobs destroyed than would be created. The net effect on employment would be negative. I think the U.S. would find itself the big loser."

The economist criticised the Republican nominee's policies, saying that he would give him an "F" if he was in one of his classes.

"The whole framework in which he looks at it is something that would be given a student in a principles course in economics an F," he said. "He just doesn’t understand much about economics."

Trump faces off against Democrat rival Hillary Clinton in November, with the New York businessman's economic policy facing criticism for being inconsistent.

Despite having a signficant lead, Clinton's margin is narrowing in polls in key swing states, as Trump's odds in the bookmakers fall.