Those who advocate rational public policy, based on a thorough understanding of the principles of human action and the benefits of voluntary exchange, are bound to be disappointed much of the time. That’s not an argument against fighting for freedom. But it is an argument for realism and for keeping expectations low — so you...
For the first time in more than two decades, China has been knocked off the top spot when it comes to the source of goods imported to the United States. According to 2023 trade reports US imports from Mexico rose nearly 5% in 2023 to more than $475 billion, while imports from China fell 20%...
North Carolina is one of our country’s economic powerhouses. Blessed with a favorable business climate and a creative, hard-working population, our state is home to many thriving companies that export goods and services all over the world. Trade is integral to our economy. Most North Carolinians, like most Americans, generally favor free trade. But a...
The North Carolina of my childhood had an economy very different from that of the average state. Today our economy remains distinctive, though not by as much. When I started my first paid job in 1979 — teaching four-year-olds how to tap dance — manufacturing accounted for fully a third of North Carolina’s gross domestic...
Domestic jobs lost to international competition may be easy to identify and regret. That they are more visible, however, does not make them more numerous or more important.
There has always been an ardently protectionist faction in our politics, an equally committed free-trade faction, and a “malleable middle.”
There is a puzzling expression regularly being used by members of the Trump administration that, they argue, describes a major goal of their protectionist trade policies: “reciprocal trade.” The expression is troubling because, as an economist, I understand that all trade, by definition, is reciprocal. It is best to think of a trade as simply two parties...
As the trade dispute with China picks up, bigger farms in North Carolina are scrambling to cope with a shrinking market of customers. U.S. agriculture relies heavily on exporting its products overseas, where China is the world’s fastest-growing market and foreign consumers help keep farms in business. North Carolina is a growing part of the...
Whether it is Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, politicians who promise to make your life better by suppressing competition and innovation are misleading you.
CARY — With the election cycle once again in full swing, the political discourse over jobs and the economy has been profoundly negative. For months, newspapers, radio, and television reports have predicted recession, even hinting at the possibility of a depression.
Why would our country’s leaders agree to trade deals that have resulted in the loss of so many jobs? International trade agreements involve costs and benefits for the American economy. Costs include the loss of jobs to countries that can manufacture certain products more cheaply than in the United States. But what are often ignored are the benefits of freer world trade.
