How the Internet and E-Commerce Are Hacking Protectionism

What the U.S. Can Do to Help Small Online Entrepreneurs Tap the Global Marketplace

Consider two distinct worlds only a few miles from each other. One world is that of Jennifer and Nicole, recently featured in The New York Times, who have worked all their lives at the Carrier air conditioner factory in Indianapolis and eagerly expect President Trump to impose tariffs on air conditioners to prevent their factory from moving to Mexico. The other world is that of Travis, who lives 150 miles away in Elkhart, Indiana, and started his online business at $3,500 and today sells motorbike gear to 131 countries and derives 41 …

By Kati Suominen | April 26, 2017

If You Want Strawberry Fields Forever, You Need Migrant Labor

A Year-Round Supply of Low-Priced Food Demands Seasonal Workers Free to Cross Borders

By Jerry Nickelsburg | April 26, 2017

Two hundred years ago this year, British economist David Ricardo published his monumental work “On The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation.” In it he outlined a theory of international …

Are Trade Shocks to Blame for Our Extremist Politics?

Researchers Hunt for the Missing Link Between Import Imbalances and Populist Anger

By Christian Dippel, Robert Gold, Stephan Heblich, and Rodrigo Pinto | April 26, 2017

Does economic competition from low-wage manufacturing countries like China make politics in Western countries more polarized?

The short answer is yes. The harder, unanswered question is: How, exactly?

A body of research …

In the New Global Trade Map, China Commands the Center

Asia's Ascendancy Will Test Western Democracies, as It Reshuffles Winners and Losers

By Javier Díaz-Giménez | April 26, 2017

Most maps you see in this country put the Atlantic Ocean at their center, with North America and Europe just off center stage. Asia is on a periphery.

My favorite map …

Want to Really Help Workers? Then Embrace Free Trade

Protectionist Barriers Won't Stop Robots from Taking U.S. Jobs

By Bhagwan Chowdhry | April 18, 2017

Ideas, innovation, exploration, and entrepreneurship make societies rich. When you buy something built elsewhere you are not just buying a fancy new object. You are importing ideas and innovation. When …

The “Aliens” Taking Our Jobs Are Not the Illegal Kind

The Backlash Against International Trade Is Rooted in Real but Misplaced Fears

By Edward E. Leamer | March 28, 2017

Can we have all the adults in the room stand up and chant in unison: “Who’s Afraid of Global Trade? Who’s Afraid of Global Trade?” That should calm us down. …

Does Global Trade Have to Be a Zero-Sum Game?