POLS 2080 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Comparative Advantage, Mercantilism, Swot Analysis

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLS 2080
• Professor: Steffi Hamann

Document Summary

1776 adam smith"s wealth of nations was published, providing arguments for laissez- isn"t good for global economy and specialization, production, according to this concept of comparative advantage, makes everyone better off. Today, tarrifs, taxes, etc, still impede the flow of stuff across borders some argue this: opening up borders to imports is better than protectionism, as division of labour, https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=7njilz2xyq0, find comparative advantage and succeed. Value of merchandise exports (in us dollars): 1960: billion, 1998: . 5 trillion, 2017: . 8 trillion. Question: mercantilist economies aimed to, maximize exports, minimize imports, protect domestic producers from outside competition, all of the above. Win-win: wins seem to be distributed asymmetrically, ex. Ethical issues labour rights, environmental protections, race to the bottom that we are discussing (that companies go where labour is cheapest) is very bad in these communities. Now looking at other concept fair trade model. Counter-initiative to the free trade model: critical of un-restricted models.