Developing Countries and Open Markets

This chapter takes a look at developing countries and confirms whether free trade is beneficial in promoting economic development. It analyzes whether countries such as Japan, Korea, and China grow rich by rejecting free trade and instead pursuing closed markets and industrial policies. The chapter addresses the issue of fairtrade and how rich-country agricultural subsidies and import tariffs harm developing countries. It also assesses how developing countries harm themselves with their own anti-trade policies. It discusses whether protectionist trade policies contributed to the East Asian growth miracle, whether labor standards should be used to address worker exploitation in sweatshops, and whether “fair trade” offers a satisfactory route to development.