Pablo Arosemena Marriott

Free Trade Pablo Arosemena Marriott

The authors persuasively argue that freeing trade is an algorithmic method of propelling economic growth. Using the history of trade, from prehistory to modern times, they show that economic growth begins with innovations, but unless they spread via trade, those innovations are useless. Commercial exchange leads to the division of labor, specialization, complementary products, new or improved business firms, better salaries, and working conditions, improving living standards. But above all, innovations form a spiral that betters the human condition. Trade and civilization go hand-in-hand. Commerce led to cities' creation, the expansion of cultural values embodied in the goods, and business partners' interaction. When trade is hindered, self-sufficiency arises, and this leads to poverty. Throughout history, examples of this phenomenon abound. The lesson for countries like Ecuador is to open the economy, reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers, and set up Trade Agreements with rich countries. This magnificent text by Franklin Lopez and Pablo Arosemena comes at a crucial moment of the 21st Century, when fear, tribalism, and appetite for power have caused many governments and citizens to forget that commerce is inseparable from civilization. ÁLVARO VARGAS LLOSA, writer and journalist. Lima, PerúIn this sensational writing, Free Trade: the Algorithm of Progress, Lopez and Arosemena express in detail and with total clarity the importance of cooperation, trust, and freedom in generating progress for our civilization. ANTONELLA MARTY, Director for the Center for Latin America in the Atlas Network. Rosario, ArgentinaThis brilliant book explains the mediocrity of economies that close their trade and turn their backs on the world and why those that bet on free trade prospered. The authors emphasize that free exchange is one of the vital principles for moving toward society's economic well-being as a whole. They build robust evidence about the good fruits of those countries that do not believe in closed boundaries and break trade barriers to innovation and entrepreneurship. FELIPE KAST. Economist and Senator for the Political Evolution Party (Evópoli) of Chile. Santiago, Chile