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The optimality of free trade: Science or religion?

Rachel McCulloch

American Economic Review 1993

Ominous trends in America's international position and overall economic performance have generated increasing public dissatisfaction with the nation's laissez-faire approach to trade. Recent academic research has meanwhile cast new doubt on the theoretical case for free trade, especially where high-technology industries are concerned. As a consequence of these parallel developments, much of both academic and public debate over appropriate trade policy now centers on the practical implications of the modeling approach known as the new trade theory. Some look to the new theory for a better understanding of trade policy's potential role in improving overall economic performance; others seek theoretical justification of policies from which they themselves expect to benefit.

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