Excelente artigo de Walter Williams no Washigton Times:
So let’s be honest with ourselves. Why do we choose to import cocoa, coffee and spices rather than produce them ourselves? It is cheaper to do so. That means we enjoy a higher standard of living than if we tried to produce them ourselves.
If we can enjoy, say, coffee, at a cheaper price than producing it ourselves, we have more money left over to buy other goods. That not only applies to cocoa, coffee and spices. It’s a general principle: If a good can be purchased more cheaply abroad, we enjoy a higher standard of living by trading than by producing it ourselves.
No one denies that international trade has unpleasant consequences for some workers. They have to find other jobs that might not pay as much, but should we protect those jobs through trade restrictions?
The Washington-based Institute for International Economics has assembled data that might help with the answer. Tariffs and quotas on imported sugar saved 2,261 jobs during the 1990s. As a result of those restrictions, the average household pays $21 more per year for sugar. The total cost, nationally, sums to $826,000 for each job saved. Trade restrictions on luggage saved 226 jobs and cost consumers $1.2 million in higher prices for each job saved. Restrictions on apparel and textiles saved 168,786 jobs at a cost of nearly $200,000 for each job saved.
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[...] If we can enjoy, say, coffee, at a cheaper price than producing it ourselves, we have more money left over to buy other goods. (…) It’s a general principle: If a good can be purchased more cheaply abroad, we enjoy a higher standard of living by trading than by producing it ourselves. Autor: MS [...]
Pingback por Cortar a Direito :: Os custos do protecionismo :: October :: 2006 — Outubro 26, 2006 @ 17:52
Cheira-me a que esse tipo é um economicista…
Comentário por Migas — Outubro 26, 2006 @ 22:33