克鲁格曼国际经济学课件第9章.pptVIP

Chapter Organization Introduction The Case for Free Trade National Welfare Arguments against Free Trade Income Distribution and Trade Policy International Negotiations and Trade Policy Summary Appendix: Proving that the Optimum Tariff is Positive Introduction Free trade maximizes national welfare, but it is associated with income distributional effects. Most governments maintain some form of restrictive trade policies. This chapter examines some of the reasons governments either should not or do not base their policy on economists’ cost-benefit calculations. Introduction What reasons are there for governments not to interfere with trade? There are three arguments in favor of free trade: Free trade and efficiency Economies of scale in production Political argument The Case for Free Trade Free Trade and Efficiency The efficiency argument for free trade is based on the result that in the case of a small country, free trade is the best policy. A tariff causes a net loss to the economy. A move from a tariff equilibrium to free trade eliminates the efficiency loss and increases national welfare. Additional Gains from Free Trade Protected markets in small countries do not allow firms to exploit scale economies. Example: In the auto industry, an efficient scale assembly should make a minimum of 80,000 cars per year. In Argentina, 13 firms produced a total of 166,000 cars per year. The presence of scale economies favors free trade that generates more varieties and results in lower prices. Free trade, as opposed to “managed” trade, provides a wider range of opportunities and thus a wider scope for innovation. Political Argument for Free Trade A political commitment to free trade may be a good idea in practice. Trade policies in practice are dominated by special-interest politics rather than consideration of national costs and benefits. Activist trade policies can sometimes increase the welfare of the nation as a whole. There are two theoretical arguments against the p