Today I signed a letter authored by two economists with opposite political affiliations (Larry Summers and Phil Gramm.) Their letter states the case (to Congress) for opposing the use of tariffs as a general tool for economic policy. Two snippets from their letter close this posting. In my previous posting on the proposed Trump tariffs, … More Tariffs and Capital Flows
On January 14th, I participated in a Lawrence University Povolny Lecture Series Panel on how various aspects of U.S. foreign policy might change under the Trump administration. Panelists were asked to address the first two questions below; I added a third question. My sole focus was on trade policy.1) Which policies will likely stay the … More U.S. Trade Policy: Continuity or Change
In a February 2015 Povolny Lecture at Lawrence University, I talked on the subject “China Ranks Number One or Does It? Should We Care?” It’s time for an update. In that talk, I raised the following five questions: In this posting, I will indicate how I answered these questions in 2015 and my answers today. … More China as an Economic Competitor
On September 12, 2018, I presented my thoughts on tariffs and trade to the Golden K Kiwanis Club of Appleton. The following link provides the slides for my presentation: Tariffs and Trade
On June 3, 2018, the Appleton Post-Crescent published the below guest column. The hard-copy edition does not contain either the graphics or hyperlinks provided here. President Trump views trade deficits in goods (imports greater than exports) as bad for the US and claims policy should be directed at reducing the total of $811 billion excess … More Trade Deficits: A Poor Focus for Public Policy
In this blog posting, I make the argument that using tariffs to reduce trade deficits and increase domestic economic well-being will be counterproductive. Furthermore, the claims made by the President (and his Commerce Secretary) to support tariffs related to steel and aluminum imports are based on false premises. In a previous posting, I defined mercantilism … More Make America Mercantilist Again: 6 False Premises That Underpin New US Tariff Policy
Currency exchanges rates between any two countries are determined by a variety of factors including their balance of trade and payments, capital flows (both restricted and unrestricted), and monetary policies. In a recent posting on Conversable Economics, Timothy Taylor argued that “all exchange rates are bad” (meaning that they generate some negative consequences.) Although this … More Are U.S. Exchange Rates Too High, Too Low, or Just Right?
This blog posting seeks to provide some starting points for discussion about the benefits and costs of international trade. In this particular posting, I address aggregate national considerations and do not address either exchange rate effects or distributional effects within the U.S. or any other country. Those will be topics for future postings. In order to make … More Myths About International Trade
No Con Economics 