February 01, 2008
Discussing his new book, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism, Economics Professor at the University of Cambridge (UK) and CEPR Senior Research Associate, Ha-Joon Chang, took aim at the popular orthodoxy that in order to develop, countries need to prescribe to a strict “free trade” agenda. Chang argued that the “developed” world, by pushing countries to pull themselves out of poverty by cutting tariffs, privatizing industries, and opening up to global competition, has perpetrated one of the greatest historical about-faces in economic history. This engaging and provocative discussion was co-sponsored by the New America Foundation and the Center for Economic and Policy Research. If you missed this crowded event, you can watch the C-SPAN BookTV video online.