The Dangerous Path of Trump-Biden Trade Isolationism
“It would be wise for our leaders, particularly those in the Biden administration, to heed the clear lessons put forth in our Constitutional system as well as the tides of history. An embrace of free trade will promote widespread prosperity but most importantly, it will prevent a backslide into a past sequence of events that we should be glad to have behind us.” ~ Ethan Yang & Jack Nicastro
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Gordon Tullock: A Birthday Appreciation
“Long after many influential economists have been relegated to footnotes or forgotten, I believe people will still be reading and citing Tullock’s work, and not as historical curiosities, either. They will be reading and citing the work of a scholar who made timeless contributions to how we understand the world.” ~ Art Carden
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A Nuanced Approach to China Part One
“Diplomacy, economic engagement, and the reserved use of military force are the core principles that define disciplined interstate relations. Throwing them out in favor of romanticized visions of conflict and glory would be playing checkers while China is playing chess.” ~ Ethan Yang
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Twelve Principles of International Trade: Part 4
“When combined with the empirically verified reality that increased trade between nations decreases the likelihood of those nations getting into shooting wars with each other, what is left of the national-security exception to the case for unilateral free trade is very narrow indeed.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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Twelve Principles of International Trade: Part 3
“The notion that people will be enriched if their government artificially impedes their access to goods and services is as detached from reality as is the belief that the future can be revealed through astrology.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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Twelve Principles of International Trade: Part 2
“Foreigners do not treat us ‘unfairly’ if they insist on sending to us more imports in exchange for a given amount of our exports (or, what is the same thing, if they accept fewer of our exports in exchange for a given amount of what we import from them). Accusing foreigners in such a case of treating us unfairly makes no more sense than accusing your employer who gives you a raise of treating you unfairly.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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Twelve Principles of International Trade: Part 1
“Although it’s possible to imagine bizarre scenarios in which a country’s rising trade deficits might be evidence of economic decline, none of these scenarios is realistic in the case of the United States. American trade deficits are evidence of American economic health, at least relative to many other countries, rather than of economic hardship.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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The Prospects for Global Trade under the New US Administration
“At 78 years old it is generally expected that Joe Biden will be a one-term president, and this presents him with a golden opportunity to embrace reform in many areas of policy. He has been afforded the chance to leave a lasting legacy: an overhaul of the WTO is one such reform.” ~ Colin Lloyd
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Trade Negotiations: A Fish Story
“A hands-off policy runs contrary to a politician’s every instinct. Every bone in their body tells them they must ‘do something’ to justify their votes and campaign contributions. They respond to the loudest voices, the fishermen in our example, and the deepest pockets. As always, the answer lies in improving our understanding of theory and history and applying our knowledge and communication skills to the issues of the day.” ~ Warren C. Gibson
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Can They Really Get Away with Banning TikTok?
“It’s all about bringing the poison of politics to a realm of innovation that has thus far been mostly and mercifully free of it. Once we have to ask politicians’ permission to download a playful app, we are going further down the road that we’ve been on for the last several months: a new frontier of political control at the expense of individual choice.” ~ Jeffrey A. Tucker
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Liberty Is the Theme of the American Spirit
“However you may have enjoyed and celebrated the 4th of July in these unusual times, be sure to keep in mind that what that day is really all about is the hope and reality of free human beings in a free world based on the moving and profoundly moral ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence: that individual liberty is natural, moral, and necessary if people are to find personal happiness and fulfillment, along with prosperity.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling
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Puzzles about Trade that Make Me Wonder
“What would be the public reaction if the headlines daily announced, say, the number of people who died within the past 24 hours from some virus other than COVID, and reported these daily deaths with vivid bar charts? How would the public react to increased testing of some virus other than COVID and to breathless reports of rising numbers of people testing positive for this other virus?” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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