The Case for Free Trade

Abstract

This chapter examines the economic logic of free trade and recent empirical evidence reinforcing the case for it. It mentions Adam Smith and David Ricardo who have described the gains from trade in a systematic way many centuries that made economists of today urge for higher income that results from improved resource allocation as the main advantage of trade. It also explains how trade not only helps to improve the allocation of existing resources but also makes those resources more productive. The chapter talks about the productivity gains from trade that are sometimes neglected but appear to be substantial. It also points out the importance of welfare benefits of a greater variety of products that resulted from trade.