On February 8, the government will release data for 2012 imports and exports. This annual release often ignites a debate about trade policy. But among economists, there’s not much debate over the benefits of free trade. The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business regularly surveys economic experts. Last year, …
Daniel Hannan, a member of the European Parliament and one of Great Britain’s rising conservative political stars, reminds us that the fundamental error of the left is its “elevation of motive over outcome.” This leads to development assistance policies that are at least doomed to fail and may actually increase …
As President Obama crafts his 2013 trade agenda, he should look to the words of Ronald Reagan for inspiration: Free trade serves the cause of economic progress, and it serves the cause of world peace. When governments get too involved in trade, economic costs increase and political disputes multiply. Peace …
The new crop of nominees for President Obama’s Global Development Council need look no further than The Heritage Foundation’s just-published 2013 Index of Economic Freedom for inspiration. When the President announced the creation of the council last year, its stated purpose was to provide guidance on new developments and ideas …
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced today that imports and exports both declined in October while the overall trade deficit increased. Reactions to the BEA report were misleading. For example, the Associated Press reported: “A wider trade deficit acts as a drag on growth.” In fact, U.S. trade …
A long-awaited report on natural gas exports was finally released by the Department of Energy (DOE) last week. Unsurprisingly, it concluded that exporting natural gas would bring a net economic benefit to the U.S. economy, with most benefits being realized as economies of scale in gas production increase. With the …
America’s free trade agreements in Latin America are a major opportunity. But even though the new U.S.–Panama free trade agreement went into effect on October 31, potentially creating up to 7,000 new jobs, the United States still seems to forget about our friendly neighbors close to home. Talk of pivoting …
Thousands of people are not starving to death in Michigan. This shocking development comes despite one of the worst harvests in memory. With little produce being gathered from local orchards and fields, some feared the worst. But despite the drought, grocery stores had full shelves and reasonable prices. The miracle …
Although Japan is now best remembered for two decades of economic stagnancy, its post-war development plan can still serve as a model for emerging countries and economies recovering from crisis. This notion was on display in October, when, for the first time since 1964, Tokyo hosted the annual meetings of …
