Factbites
 Where results make sense
About us   |   Why use us?   |   Reviews   |   PR   |   Contact us  

Topic: History of free trade


Related Topics

In the News (Fri 10 Jul 09)

  
  Free trade - dKosopedia
Free trade is the absence of artificial (government-imposed) barriers to trade among individuals and firms in different nations.
International trade is often constricted by different national taxes, other fees imposed on exported and imported goods, as well as non-tariff regulations on imported goods; theoretically, free trade is against all these restrictions.
Historically, the free trade movement was skeptical and even hostile to the notion of intellectual property, regarded as monopolistic and harmful to a free, competitive economy.
www.dkosopedia.com /wiki/Free_trade   (1119 words)

  
 Free trade - Knowmore
Free trade is the untaxed flow of goods and services between countries, and is a name given to economic policies and parties supporting increases in such trade.
Free trade supporters argue that all countries have the right to opt out of the world market through isolationism and that companies are fictional persons who are taxed without representation and that the balance of power should shift away from the governments that exploit them.
Free trade, then, creates an economic incentive for a race to the bottom in regulatory institutions; countries with lax, lenient, non-enforced, or selectively enforced regulatory legal structures will have a competitive advantage in attracting investment to their countries, and not merely in wages.
www.knowmore.org /index.php/Free_trade   (7992 words)

  
 Douglas A. Irwin, A Brief History of International Trade Policy: Library of Economics and Liberty
Trade with a given country or region was judged profitable by the extent to which the value of exports exceeded the value of imports, thereby resulting in a balance of trade surplus and adding precious metals and treasure to the country's stock.
The case for free trade was reinforced by the classical economists writing in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
Though the benefits of free trade achieved nearly universal assent among the leading economic thinkers by the early nineteenth century, these same economists and those of later generations probed instances in which there might be economic gains from deviating from free trade.
www.econlib.org /library/Columns/Irwintrade.html   (3219 words)

  
 Free trade - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In international trade, free trade is an idealized market model, often stated as a political objective, in which trade of goods and services between countries flows unhindered by government-imposed prices.
Free trade is a concept in economics and government, encompassing:
Free trade is one of the most debated topics of the 20th and 21st century.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Free_trade   (1691 words)

  
 LAII: Prospects For Free Zones Under FTAA
Another reason why free trade zones could be strategically important for Latin American countries is that they are countries well known for frequent changes in economic and administrative regulations, consequently making the economic climate very uncertain and risky from a foreign investor's point of view.
The role of free trade zones in South America is to provide a bureaucracy-free environment, free trade conditions (duty free machinery, equipment and materials) and stability of the "rules of the game" for investors (both local and foreign) who want to process raw materials for export.
Even though international experience shows some unsuccessful free trade zones (especially when the location was poor and the legislation non-competitive) in most cases free trade zones have been successful in reaching the goals set at their creation.
laii.unm.edu /conference/braga.php   (3213 words)

  
 International Trade
To call it “Free Trade” is, as always, a misnomer, for most of the trade was conducted through governmental officials on all sides.
He thought Free Trade would not affect cattle-raising, because it was impossible to transport enough meat on the hoof into the country.
Yet so firm was the hold of Free Trade fantasies upon the English middle and upper classes that the campaign only split the Conservative Party, and caused it to lose an election.
www.pat2k.com /trade/otto_ft_hist.htm   (4527 words)

  
 History of international trade - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
He acknowledged the immediate economic advantages of free trade, and advocated returning to this policy as soon as the 'industrial education' of Germany was complete.
It included institutions and rules intended to prevent national trade barriers being erected, as the lack of free trade was considered by many to have been a principal cause of the war.
Free trade transfers monopoly power from local industry to foreign companies and the job of government regulating the economy for the common benefit of everybody will be lost.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/History_of_trade   (2388 words)

  
 FoEI Citizens' Guide to TES: Free trade history, theory and ideology   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-20)
Free trade is based on an economic theory known as 'comparative advantage', which holds that countries should specialise in producing those goods they produce most efficiently.
Free trade ideology has enjoyed varying degrees of popularity over the past two hundred years but is now widely regarded as a fundamental part of national and international economic policy.
As we enter the 21st Century, the doctrine of 'free trade' continues to be accepted as 'conventional wisdom' for economic policy and, apart from a few notable exceptions, is rarely questioned amongst academic, industrial and governmental economists.
www.foei.org /trade/activistguide/ideology.htm   (3892 words)

  
 Reason Magazine - Managing Trade's History
As the most prominent trade theorist of his generation, and one of the founders of strategic trade theory, Krugman exerts a great deal of influence both in academia and in policy circles.
From claiming in 1987 that "the case for free trade is currently more in doubt than at any time since the 1817 publication of Ricardo's Principles," Krugman in the 1990s arrived at a position of vocal advocacy of free trade.
For anyone familiar with the history of economic thought, it ought to be clear that free trade remains the best practical policy involving the fewest complications and the greatest overall gain.
www.reason.com /news/show/30122.html   (1910 words)

  
 Against the Tide: An Intellectual History of Free Trade: The Independent Review: The Independent Institute
In their view, the purpose of foreign trade was the enrichment of the nation, and this could be accomplished by a trade policy encouraging exports, which bring in gold, and discouraging imports, which send out gold.
Free trade’s great virtue is that it keeps government from manipulating the economy by altering natural patterns of production and trade.
First, although the book is commendably free of opaque economic jargon, some of the discussion would have been more comprehensible if the author had included examples to show just how the advocates of protectionism or “managed” trade believed their policies would be advantageous.
www.independent.org /tii/content/pubs/review/books/tir13_irwin.html   (1571 words)

  
 Against the Tide: An Intellectual History of Free Trade National Interest, The - Find Articles
It depicts the turmoil of intellectual countercurrents and criticism as acutely as the positive arguments on behalf of free trade.
His exposition of the intellectual history of free trade concerns itself with the history of economists rather than of economies or of societies.
Theories rightly deemed to hold true across international borders are never put to the very interesting tests of internal application; binary international trade relations are taken for granted as the staples of trade theory, whereas the taxation and subsidy of such internal facilities as roads, canals, or railways are passed over.
www.findarticles.com /p/articles/mi_m2751/is_n49/ai_20319605   (775 words)

  
 [No title]
You see, he intends to (gasp) attack free trade - which he imagines to be a simplistic dogma that economists repeat only because they learned it from their teachers, or because it serves the interests of their paymasters.
It would never occur to him that there is more to it than that; that the case for free trade has withstood many such assaults in the past, and that the response of experienced economists to his courageously radical critique will almost surely be "Oh no, not that old argument again".
The idea of free trade has been there and done that; and still it survives, because it is a far deeper idea than even most of its supporters will ever understand.
web.mit.edu /krugman/www/irwin.html   (727 words)

  
 Unfree global markets-Destroying the myths of free trade history : Melbourne Indymedia
They argue that free trade is how all developed countries have become rich, and criticise the developing countries for refusing to adopt this successful formula for economic development.
They argue that the superiority of free trade is proven by the growth record of two decades of trade liberalisation being superior to that of the preceding few decades, when protectionism was the norm.
FREE TRADE agreements that involve countries with vastly different levels of productivity are unlikely to succeed long-term, because over time poorer countries will realise that they are not helping development.
www.melbourne.indymedia.org /news/2003/09/53817.php   (3556 words)

  
 BBC NEWS | Business | A century of free trade
Trade was the engine of economic growth in the 19th Century.
Countries dropped their restrictions on free trade, while the Gold Standard was used worldwide to measure the value of goods and currencies, providing a universal currency.
When the WTO tried to launch a new round of trade talks in Seattle in 1999, mass protests on the streets and disagreements between rich and poor countries led to failure.
news.bbc.co.uk /1/hi/business/533716.stm   (630 words)

  
 Irwin, D.A.: Against the Tide: An Intellectual History of Free Trade.
In this readable intellectual history, Douglas Irwin explains how the idea of free trade has endured against the tide of the abundant criticisms that have been leveled against it from the ancient world and Adam Smith's day to the present.
Once a presumption about the economic benefits of free trade was established, various objections to free trade arose in the form of major arguments for protectionism, such as those relating to the terms of trade, infant industries, increasing returns, wage distortions, income distribution, unemployment, and strategic trade policy.
As the history of an economic idea, it pays less attention to the political and economic setting in which different theories were promoted than to their analytical rigour....
press.princeton.edu /titles/5797.html   (578 words)

  
 Library of Economics and Liberty: Economic Readings by Topic: Free Trade
This is book is not so much a brief for free trade as it is a scholarly survey of the history of economic thought on the topic.
To truly understand the case for free trade requires knowledge of the development of the economic theories supporting free trade—as well as of those theories in opposition to free trade-and of the historical context of these theories.
The moral of his many case studies was that what the United States does well is to invent time- and labor-saving machines (does the computer revolution of the latter 1900s ring a bell?); and that these advances were the results of comparative advantage, not protection of young industries or a young nation.
www.econlib.org /library/Topics/freetrade.html   (776 words)

  
 History debunks the free trade myth | | Guardian Unlimited Business
Many knew all too clearly that Britain, which was preaching free trade to their country, became rich on the basis of protectionism and subsidies.
There were exceptions, such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, which always maintained free trade.
But it has been resumed with renewed vigour in the last two decades, when developed countries have exerted enormous pressures on developing countries to adopt free trade, deregulate their economies, open their capital markets, and adopt "best-practice" institutions such as strong patent laws.
business.guardian.co.uk /story/0,3604,742797,00.html   (823 words)

  
 NCPA - Daily Policy Digest - Democrats Have History of Backing Free Trade
But their anti-trade stance yesterday was out of synch with the Democratic Party's historical support of trade expansion.
All rounds of trade negotiations since the 1970s have been supported by special authority of the sort passed by the House yesterday.
It found that three variables were the most powerful predictors of political chaos: lack of democracy, closure to world trade and high infant mortality.
www.ncpa.org /iss/tra/2001/pd120701b.html   (314 words)

  
 History proves free trade is best way
The ensuing trade leaves both countries better off, as, in the absence of government intervention, resources are allocated towards their most efficient use.
Yes, free trade will cost jobs in industries that cannot, whether by lack of productivity, inflated salaries, or overregulation, compete with those abroad.
The fact is that not only does restriction of trade cause damage to the long-term economic well-being of society, it also does incredible damage in the short term.
www.enquirer.com /editions/2004/03/15/editorial_tim.html   (435 words)

  
 Irwin, D.A.: Free Trade Under Fire: Second Edition.
Growing world trade has helped lift living standards around the world, and yet free trade is always under attack by opponents.
Critics complain that trade forces painful economic adjustments, such as plant closings and layoffs of workers, and charge that the World Trade Organization serves the interests of corporations, undercuts domestic environmental regulations, and erodes America's sovereignty.
In Free Trade under Fire, Douglas Irwin sweeps aside the misconceptions that litter the debate over trade and gives the reader a clear understanding of the issues involved.
press.princeton.edu /titles/7938.html   (385 words)

  
 Foreign Policy In Focus Special Report: Kicking Away the Ladder: The“Real”History of Free Trade
Kindleberger, C. “The Rise of Free Trade in Western Europe, 1820—1875." Journal of Economic History, vol.
Nye, J. “The Myth of Free-Trade Britain and Fortress Franc : Tariffs and Trade in the Nineteenth Century.” Journal of Economic History, vol.
Reinert, E. “Raw Materials in the History of Economic Policy--Or Why List (the protectionist) and Cobden (the free trader) Both Agreed on Free Trade in Corn,” in G. Cook (ed.), The Economics and Politics of International Trade--Freedom and Trade, Volume 2.
www.fpif.org /papers/03trade/refs_body.html   (1268 words)

  
 Make Poverty History - What We Want - Trade
The result is misery for hundreds of millions of people who just want the chance to make a living, feed themselves, send their kids to school and create a better future for the next generation.
All this is being done in the name of 'liberalisation' - and 'free trade' or leaving things to market forces.
Rich countries used trade rules to protect themselves as they developed - which is how they got where they are now.
www.makepovertyhistory.org /whatwewant/trade.shtml   (575 words)

  
 The history of free trade zones the Republic of Haiti
The history of free trade zones the Republic of Haiti
Hartford Web Publishing is not the author of the documents in World History Archives and does not presume to validate their accuracy or authenticity nor to release their copyright.
The impact of the newly opened factory in the free trade zone in north-east Haiti where Haitian workers assemble Levi jeans for a Dominican company.
www.hartford-hwp.com /archives/43a/index-cfa.html   (307 words)

  
 Foreign Policy In Focus Special Report: Kicking Away the Ladder: The “Real” History of Free Trade
However, whereas a slow process of accumulation was right for Alaska, it is not right for Iraq, which starts from a condition of economic collapse, and with a history of autocratic, kleptocratic governance.
First, the history of large-scale privatization is fraught with failure.
Third, if history is any guide, over the longer term there is consolidation of holdings.
www.fpif.org /papers/03trade/index.html   (7653 words)

  
 AlterNet: FREE RADICAL: History of Free-trade Protests
Neoliberalism is the philosophical underpinning of corporate globalization, the foundation for trade agreements like NAFTA and for the World Trade Organization.
The gatherings were intended not to create a global organization or produce a unified strategy, but to discuss how different groups were affected by neoliberalism and how movements might coordinate their resistance.
To coordinate N30, the next global day of action, which was to coincide with the meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle.
www.alternet.org /story/9788   (1093 words)

  
 Free Trade | Seven Generational Ruminations
Okay, we have another World Trade Organization (WTO) summit coming up.
And, as a prelude to the summit, we have protesters coming in from around the world.
Hmm, the world global economy is shaping up into a few large trading blocks.
www.7gen.com /topics/politics/free-trade?q=topics/politics/free-trade   (810 words)

  
 Advisory Board: Douglas Irwin | Cato's Center for Trade Policy Studies
Irwin is a member of the American Economic Association, Economic History Association and Cliometrics Society.
He has taught at the University of Chicago and MIT, in addition to serving on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.
Professor Irwin has published many books, his latest being a second edition of Free Trade Under Fire in 2005 (Princeton), and Against the Tide: An Intellectual History of Free Trade (Princeton, 1996) which has been translated into both Japanese and Indonesian.
www.freetrade.org /bios/irwin.html   (247 words)

  
 Toni Solo: The "Free Trade" History Eraser
Rural workers and urban trades unionists were not so lucky, suffering imprisonment, torture and murder.
The government parroted free market gobbledygook from its overseers in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and translated it into legislation offering give away terms to attract predatory foreign, low-cost, light industrial pseudo-investment andndash; the maquilas.
The international financial institutions and the corporate controlled media tirelessly sustain the illusion of inevitability, that "free trade" is imperative, the only way to haul people out of poverty.
www.counterpunch.org /solo11292003.html   (3606 words)

Try your search on: Qwika (all wikis)

Factbites
  About us   |   Why use us?   |   Reviews   |   Press   |   Contact us  
Copyright © 2005-2007 www.factbites.com Usage implies agreement with terms.