Rethinking International Trade

Over the past decade a small group of economists has challengedtraditional wisdom about international trade. Rethinking International Tradeprovides a coherent account of this research program and traces the key steps in anexciting new trade theory that offers, among other possibilities, new argumentsagainst free trade.Krugman's introduction is a valuable guide to research that hasdelved anew into the causes of international trade and reopened basic questionsabout the international pattern of specialization, the effects of protectionism, andwhat constitutes an optimal trade policy. In the four sections that follow, he takesa revisionary look at the causes of international trade, and discusses growth andthe role of history, technological change and trade, and strategic tradepolicy.