Foundations of Economics, 8th Edition

9.2 Winners, Losers, and Net Gains From Trade

MyEconLab Concept Video

You’ve seen how international trade lowers the price of an imported good and raises the price of an exported good. Buyers of imported goods benefit from lower prices, and sellers of exported goods benefit from higher prices. But some people complain about international competition: Not everyone gains. We’re now going to see who wins and who loses from free international trade. You will then be able to understand who complains about international competition and why.

We’ll also see why we never hear the consumers of imported goods complaining and why we never hear exporters complaining, except when they want greater access to foreign markets. And we’ll see why we do hear complaints ...