Re: Trade policy

[Clifford Poirot <cpoirot@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

For the record Paul, I believe your proposal merits serious discussion and
at a minimum, points in the right direction. As I try to get across to my
International Political Economy students, whatever the faults and cracks in
the old BWS, it did provide for international coordination of payments,
liquidity and allowed governments to promote full employment.

-----Original Message-----
From: pdavidso [mailto:pdavidso@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2003 11:55 AM
To: pkt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Trade policy


>===== Original Message From Clifford Poirot <cpoirot@xxxxxxxxxxx> =====
>This is very interesting. I'll be looking forward to the publication of the
>papers. Did anybody address the consequences/issues involved in
alternatives
>to free trade policies-i.e. the possibility of the triumph of mercantilism
>and aggressive economic nationalism in a zero sum world?
>
>This to my way of thinking is one of the biggest quandaries-the costs of
>free trade vs. the costs of aggressiv mercantilism, or worse, autarky.
>

An alternative is my IMCU plan -- which is the 21 century update of Keynes's

clearing union-bancor plan. It permits free trade but -- free trade that
does
not havedelitorious effects on domestic employment, and vun der this plan
mercantilism is impossible!!

[When the international capital markets seized up in the Fall of 1998 -- I
actually was called to the UN in Geneva for a private meeting of finace
ministers and central bankers from many countries -- besides the G7 -- so
that
my IMCU plan could be discussed-- and a diplimatic format for such a
proposal
be arranged. Unfortunately, while some were working on the diplomatic
format,
the world was able to muddle through -- and the proposal was abandoned.]


But, of course, why should we discusss such sensible proposals -- when there

are esoteric papers presented at the New University .



Paul

Paul Davidson
Editor, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics
University of Tennessee
SMC 503
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0550
office phone #;(865)974-4221; office fax# (865)974-1686 or (865)974-4601
home phone and fax # (865)692-0802
email pdavidson@xxxxxxx
http://econ.bus.utk.edu/davidsonextra/Davidson.html