Economics
The Political Economy of Trade Liberalization and Its Distributional Effects
Quick fact
While trade liberalization reliably increases national income, its costs—like job losses in import-competing industries—are concentrated on identifiable groups, while its benefits are spread thinly across millions of consumers, a mismatch that gives losers a loud political voice.
Why this is interesting
You might have heard that free trade makes everyone better off—so why do so many people violently oppose it, and why do political fights over trade never seem to end?