Speaker Series with Samuel Kortum

On February 15, the Stanford King Center on Global Development held a Speaker Series with economist Samuel Kortum, professor, Yale University, who discussed the associated costs of free international trade. With the recent withdrawal of the United States from the Trans Pacific Partnership and possible withdrawal from NAFTA, the traditionally accepted consensus for free trade seems to be waning. In his talk, Kortum illustrated David Ricardo’s classical case for gains from trade to show that even in an idealized setting, gains are associated with disruption of industries and likely increased inequality across workers. Kortum also discussed recent research on the benefits and disadvantages of free trade. The conversation was moderated by Pete Klenow.