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Innovation and Trade Policy in a Globalized World
Report

Innovation and Trade Policy in a Globalized World


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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • For Experts

Recommendation

One point that most economists agree on is that free trade produces long-term benefits for the global economy. In the current geopolitical environment, however, the United States is locked in trade disputes with China, the European Union and others. Economists Ufuk Akcigit, Sina T. Ates and Giammario Impullitti examine the relative efficacy of using tariffs or strategic incentives to bolster nations’ competitive advantage. Policy experts and executives interested in a thorough analysis of this economic carrot-and-stick approach will find important insights in this report.

Take-Aways

  • In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the United States faced growing economic pressure from rival advanced economies. 
  • In 1981, the Reagan administration orchestrated a targeted R&D credit designed to boost US competitiveness. 
  • Today, concerns about China’s growing trade dominance prompt US officials to use financial tariffs to even the imbalances.

About the Authors

Ufuk Akcigit is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, Sina T. Ates is an economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and Giammario Impullitti is a professor at the University of Nottingham.