Re: A project for Pen-L

["Paul Phillips" <phillp2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I, for one, would like to see more on this.  Perhaps Scott could
break his reply up into a number of shorter pieces dealing with
each of these market failure arguments.

Paul Phillips,
Economics,
University of Manitoba

On 28 Nov 01, at 15:32, Robert Scott Gassler wrote:

> My lecture arguments against free trade and globalization are based on a
> thorough market failure argument, where that term includes monopoly power,
> ownership externalities, maldistribution of income, macroeconomic
> instability, etc. This places the environmental and labor objections to
> globalization in context and ties in well with standard lectures.
>
> I can send more if you are interested.
>
> Scott Gassler
> Professor of Economics
> Vesalius College of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
> Belgium
>
>
> At 22:41 27/11/01 -0600, you wrote:
> >Michael,
> >
> >(and others) have been lamenting the failure of Pen-l to look at the
> >current economic problems etc.   I have a practical (?) suggestion.
> >
> >I teach a course called "Canadian Economic Problems" and also
> >am frequently called upon to lecture on "free trade" and its
> >implications, etc.  What I do not have is a comprehensive critique
> >of so-called free trade, all the agreements etc.  What I would like to
> >see is pen-l put together a comprehensive critique of 'free trade'
> >(sic) that we could use in classes, public protests, media, etc. with
> >all the appropriate academic references to studies, reports, etc.
> >
> >I know of a number of studies (such as the excellent one by CEPR)
> >on globalism and (the failure of) growth.  But I don't know them all.
> >Nor do I know of all of the studies on NAFTA and job destruction
> >such as the one by EPI/CCPA.  What I would like to see is a
> >series of reports, not overly long, by interested pen-l members of
> >the evils of 'free trade' and its effects.  Something that we could put
> >together and download (or get students to download) that would
> >give a comprehensive theoretical and empirical critique of the 'free
> >trade conspiracy' with all the appropriate footnotes/URLs to relevant
> >studies/reports/websites.
> >
> >I am not suggesting whole articles.  Indeed that would make the
> >project useless -- but rather short 500-1000 word summaries of a
> >group of empirical and/or theoretical literature.
> >
> >Is this a feasible project?  Or is it academic wishthinking?  I do
> >think we need to give our young people in the trenches some
> >theoretical and practical evidence to maintain their resolve, never
> >mind our own.
> >
> >Paul Phillips,
> >Economics,
> >University of Manitoba
> >
> >
>