Free Trade
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Kvetching
“Pundits and politicians who describe free trade as an imposition are either hopelessly ignorant of the meaning of free trade, or they are intentionally portraying it in a false light in order to scare people.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
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The FTC’s Case Against Amazon is a Case Against American Consumers
“Even in an era of inflation, digital markets have had profoundly deflationary effects. Disassembling Amazon’s business model would almost surely dampen this trend.” ~David McGarry
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Lina Khan’s Anti-Progress Paradox
“If Amazon can be sued by the FTC for the success it has achieved in catering to customers and enabling the sales of third-party sellers, what chance does a small business have for crafting its own strategies and having autonomy over its own operations and distribution networks?” ~Kimberlee Josephson
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Wishful (Protectionist) Thinking
“Specialization and productivity increase when the market’s size extends across national borders. But tariffs reduce the extent of the market and thereby reduce specialization.” ~Paul Mueller
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Beware of Mistaking Artifacts for Economic Realities
“Recognition that the size, or possibly even the very existence, of any measured US trade deficit depends heavily on the accounting conventions used to record international commercial transactions should be sufficient to calm the fears that arise whenever this accounting artifact shows a deficit.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
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The Deficiency of Popular Accounts of the So-Called “Trade Deficit”
“The classification of outputs bought and sold on international markets according to whether these outputs are tangible is no more economically justified than would be the classification of these outputs according to their colors.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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On the Mercantilist and Monarchial Origins of the Concept of the ‘Balance of Trade’
“Unlike a profit-seeking company, an economy doesn’t exist to maximize the amount of money it brings in, net of its costs, on sales of its outputs.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
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How Trump and Biden Are Blowing Up the Free-Trade System America Worked So Hard to Build
“Globalization has helped generate previously unknown wealth – and health – in rich and poor nations alike. As evidenced by Trump and Biden, a President may use his unilateral tariff authority for ill.” ~ David B. McGarry
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Economic Growth Theories Fall into the Dustbin of History (And That’s Okay)
“So, while prominent economists were spinning their unsatisfying theories and lamenting the vicious cycle of poverty, the world got better—on its own.” ~ Jane Shaw Stroup
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Modern Mercantilism: A Case for Free Trade
“Global free trade helps both consumers, via lower quality-adjusted prices, and taxpayers. Walking into a Walmart to buy goods I want for dollars I earn at work does not leave me, or the nation, worse off, even if those goods originated in another country. ” ~ Stefan Bartl
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•
Kvetching
“Pundits and politicians who describe free trade as an imposition are either hopelessly ignorant of the meaning of free trade, or they are intentionally portraying it in a false light in order to scare people.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
-
•
The FTC’s Case Against Amazon is a Case Against American Consumers
“Even in an era of inflation, digital markets have had profoundly deflationary effects. Disassembling Amazon’s business model would almost surely dampen this trend.” ~David McGarry
-
•
Lina Khan’s Anti-Progress Paradox
“If Amazon can be sued by the FTC for the success it has achieved in catering to customers and enabling the sales of third-party sellers, what chance does a small business have for crafting its own strategies and having autonomy over its own operations and distribution networks?” ~Kimberlee Josephson
-
•
Wishful (Protectionist) Thinking
“Specialization and productivity increase when the market’s size extends across national borders. But tariffs reduce the extent of the market and thereby reduce specialization.” ~Paul Mueller
-
•
Beware of Mistaking Artifacts for Economic Realities
“Recognition that the size, or possibly even the very existence, of any measured US trade deficit depends heavily on the accounting conventions used to record international commercial transactions should be sufficient to calm the fears that arise whenever this accounting artifact shows a deficit.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
-
•
The Deficiency of Popular Accounts of the So-Called “Trade Deficit”
“The classification of outputs bought and sold on international markets according to whether these outputs are tangible is no more economically justified than would be the classification of these outputs according to their colors.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
-
•
On the Mercantilist and Monarchial Origins of the Concept of the ‘Balance of Trade’
“Unlike a profit-seeking company, an economy doesn’t exist to maximize the amount of money it brings in, net of its costs, on sales of its outputs.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
-
•
How Trump and Biden Are Blowing Up the Free-Trade System America Worked So Hard to Build
“Globalization has helped generate previously unknown wealth – and health – in rich and poor nations alike. As evidenced by Trump and Biden, a President may use his unilateral tariff authority for ill.” ~ David B. McGarry
-
•
Economic Growth Theories Fall into the Dustbin of History (And That’s Okay)
“So, while prominent economists were spinning their unsatisfying theories and lamenting the vicious cycle of poverty, the world got better—on its own.” ~ Jane Shaw Stroup
-
•
Modern Mercantilism: A Case for Free Trade
“Global free trade helps both consumers, via lower quality-adjusted prices, and taxpayers. Walking into a Walmart to buy goods I want for dollars I earn at work does not leave me, or the nation, worse off, even if those goods originated in another country. ” ~ Stefan Bartl