Douglas Irwin on Trade: Reality vs Perception
IMF Podcasts, December 19, 2016
Source details
- Canonical URL
- Douglas Irwin on Trade: Reality vs Perception
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Bibliographic details
- Published: December 19, 2016
Overview of the episode
- Publication date: December 19, 2016
- Speaker: Douglas Irwin, John Sloan Dickey Third Century Professor in Social Sciences, Department of Economics at Dartmouth College
- Event participation: Irwin participated in a seminar entitled Making Trade an Engine of Growth for All at the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings
- Producers / behind the mic:
- Bruce Edwards, International Monetary Fund
- Rhoda Metcalfe, independent journalist and audio producer
Main themes and framing
- The central question: Who benefits from free trade and who doesn’t?
- Core observation: The realities of trade outcomes do not always match people’s perceptions.
- Subject focus: Controversies surrounding free trade and its distributional effects.
Key points and assertions conveyed
- Free trade produces winners and losers; perceptions about who benefits can diverge from actual outcomes.
- The episode addresses controversial aspects of trade policy and public understanding of trade impacts.
- Emphasis on making trade an engine of growth for all, as reflected by participation in the seminar Making Trade an Engine of Growth for All.
Intended audience and purpose
- Audience: Listeners interested in trade policy, economic controversies, and the distributional consequences of trade.
- Purpose: To clarify misconceptions about trade, present economic perspectives on who benefits from free trade, and inform debate around trade policy.