ECON 1020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 41: Free Trade, North American Free Trade Agreement

• School: University of Manitoba
• Department: Economics
• Course: ECON 1020
• Professor: Ryan A.Compton

Document Summary

New information technologies have shrunk the globe and made it imperative for all firms to lower their costs and prices, and to innovate to remain competitive: transportation costs have come down dramatically. Free-trade zones (nafta, eu), along with trade liberalization through the world trade organization have also heightened competition internationally by removing trade protection from domestic firms: competition is no long just domestic, today it is internationally. Stronger productivity growth and heightened global competition allow the economy to achieve a higher rate of economy growth: increases in productivity = increases in growth. Economists usually take for granted that economic growth is desirable and sustainable, but not everyone agrees. Industrialization and growth result in pollution and other environmental problems. No evidence growth has solved sociological problems such as: Poverty is relative there will always be people at the bottom. Better off to be poor in a developed country and in a less.