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Free trade websites
Here is a meta-blog on free trade from the Netherlands, but in English.
Here is translation by Wiki, in this case translating Bastiat into German. How long will it take?
Here is my podcast with Ha-Joon Chang on free trade, courtesy of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Chang is the author of Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism. I believe in that myth and I try to hold his feet to the fire.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on February 12, 2008 at 12:29 PM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
Tyler,
I thought you really showed the folly of Chang's ideas with your barrage of questions. The Socratic method is the best way to expose someone's terrible idea. You are a master of that method, bravo!
Alex
Posted by: Alex at Feb 12, 2008 1:00:51 PM
Bastiat in German? Oh mensch...
"Ja, ja, also, hier is eben das Parabel von dem gebrochenen Fenster, ja, OK? Also, viele denken, dass,
wenn jemand ein Fenster brecht, es ist gut fuer die Oekonomie. Das Grund ist, ja, das Fenstermann
bekommt Geld, ja. Und er gibt es aus. Er kauft einen neuen Mantel, etwas fuer die Kinder, ja. Also,
das Erklaerung ist ganz falsch, okay? Das Mantelkauft verursacht, das der Ladenbesitzer nicht was kaufen
kann, okay? Ja, die neue Ausgabe bedeutet nicht mehr in total, ja. Das ist, ja, was Bastiat gesagt hat.
Alles verstanden?"
Posted by: Person at Feb 12, 2008 1:04:43 PM
So what is an economists take on the fact that europe during it's hayday of industrialization had massive amounts of protectionism yet Europe prospered.
Posted by: David Lundquist at Feb 12, 2008 1:19:43 PM
You took Chang to school.
Posted by: at Feb 12, 2008 1:26:32 PM
David Lundquist,
Are you talking about the 1800's? What was the tax take as a percentagoe of GDP back then? Less than 5%? Less than 1%?
I honestly don't know the exact number, but I am highly confident it is a small shadow of today's deadweight loss taxation levels in Europe.
Posted by: happyjuggler0 at Feb 12, 2008 1:32:28 PM
I'm not an economist, nor a historian, but I'll make a wild guess that industrialization had something to do prosperity.
Posted by: andrew at Feb 12, 2008 2:19:24 PM
Chang's idea reminds me of the east Asian way of protective parenting. I am not sure whether it is good or bad. But in East Asia, it does seem to produce decent kids.
Posted by: Yan Li at Feb 12, 2008 2:48:49 PM
This mith has yet to be tested in real life.
Posted by: paulo vasconcelos at Feb 12, 2008 3:08:01 PM
I read a review of Chang's book recently (here) that I laughed my way through. Surely it exaggerates some of the book's arguments (corruption is not a problem because we had corruption in the U.S. as well? What?). I googled around and found Chang to be much more reasonable, though I still largely disagree with him. I think he underestimates the problem of transitional gains traps and special interest politics.
The podcast is interesting. I found it curious that he supported tariffs/subsidies in rich countries.
Posted by: Swimmy at Feb 12, 2008 4:32:42 PM
Die Person hat einen interessanten Standpunkt über das Genus der deutschen Substantive.
Posted by: Attila Smith at Feb 12, 2008 4:45:24 PM
Dear Tyler,
in the "Post a comment" section that is seen after pushing the button Preview, the field "Email Address" is preceded by the promise that it [the adress] won't be displayed with the comment.
This is technically true but since it suffices to click on the signature to see the commentator's address I wonder if the promise might not be, hmmm how shall I put it, a topological image of the truth.
Best wishes from your faithful
follower,
Attila.
Posted by: Attila Smith at Feb 12, 2008 5:03:21 PM
David Lundquist:
The question is not whether countries can be successful in spite of protectionism. The question is whether they would be even more successful if they hadn't been protectionist. (In other words, what is the opportunity cost of protectionism?) I would argue that one major factor in the British Empire's prosperity was the fact that it facilitated trade between so many parts of the world.
Posted by: johnleemk at Feb 12, 2008 5:39:44 PM
Tyler
I was surprised by your question about whether giving voting rights to corrupt countries will improve governance. I did not understand where you were going with it. Of course, it will improve governance of WB and IMF, may not improve governance in their home countries. Are you suggesting that India, Brazil and China should not get more voting rights because they are corrupt and WB and IMF should continue to stick to vote chosen based on economic strenght in 1944. Isn't this the height of corruption?
I guess, by your argument WB should not have chosen their chief economist from China since it is a corrupt country.
I am an unrepentent free trader, but I am not sure dismantling protection will overnight wipe out corruption in poor countries. The standard argument in favor of free trade are potent enough and you do not have to use corruption as a scapegoat. I know you are better than that.
Posted by: Asif Dowla at Feb 12, 2008 9:19:44 PM
Chang's idea that "criticizes rich nations for demanding trade concessions from poorer countries that the rich nations themselves never made when they were developing" seems similar to a paper written by Cowen's GMU colleague Peter Leeson (and Josh Hall) while Leeson was at WVU.
Their essay claims that rich nations push for regulations in poorer countries that the rich nations themselves never made when they were developing. There are (obvious) differences in the two arguments, but they rest on a similar premise.
Link to cited paper:
http://www.peterleeson.com/Good_for_the_Goose__Bad_for_the_Gander.pdf
Posted by: William Luther at Feb 12, 2008 11:49:51 PM
The Myth of Free Trade is a book by Ravi Batra. Ha-Joon Chang's book is Bad Samaritans, although "The Myth of Free Trade" appears in the subtitle.
Posted by: JD at Feb 13, 2008 3:18:34 AM
Isn't there an mp3 of the podcast available somewhere?
It isn't very practical to listen sitting at a desk, with a PC on and work waiting to be done. I listen while driving.
Posted by: igor at Feb 13, 2008 7:15:49 AM
Igor: mp3 link here: http://chronicle.com/media/audio/v54/i23/chang_cowen/chang_cowen.mp3
It's worth noting that "Bad Samaritans" is a Friedrich List reference. Make of that what you will.
Posted by: Swimmy at Feb 13, 2008 11:21:09 AM
Ravi Batra? Didn't he predict the Great Depression of 1990? You remember it -- it was in all of his books.
Posted by: Russell Nelson at Feb 14, 2008 3:08:56 AM
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