International Trade: Smarten Up to Talk the Talk

Abstract

International trade is currently under fire from many sides. Protectionist trade policies are on the rise, putting an end to the decade-long march of free trade. Making sense of the daily headlines and having an informed opinion on your own has rarely been more important than it is now.

Our work aims to explain the driving forces behind international trade, its history, how it shaped the world, its economic models, issues ranging from job losses to the environment and why eating kangaroos is better than buying local.

We summarize the most important academic literature on these topics in a non-technical, educational manner. If the readers conclude that our report has been useful in forming their own views on the pros and cons of international trade and that they can `talk the talk', we are gratified with the fruit of our work.

Keywords: Introduction to International Trade; History of Trade; Trade Models; Costs and Benefits of Trade; Trade Restrictions; Free Trade

JEL Classification: F1