1999 Chapters (Layout Features)

Trade and Culture: America's Blind Spot

Bhagwati, Jagdish N.

Must culture necessarily yield to free trade? Sophisticated economists who know the theory of free trade truly well also know that an important element of it is what is known as the theory of “non-economic objectives.” Thus, free traders recognize the virtues of free trade but note that non-economic objectives such as culture must also be accommodated. So, if we probe alternative policy options hard enough, we may well find ways to
reconcile open trade with culture. Indeed, we often will. The challenge for policy is to find such solutions.