Why Economists Should Study Fairness
the 1996 Republican presidential primaries, Pat Buchanan argued that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is causing the loss of American jobs. That spring Buchanan visited a closed textile plant in South Carolina to emphasize his belief that free trade agreements cause factories to close and jobs to be lost. Buchanan argued that continuing movements to free trade will put many other middle-class jobs at risk. On the same day Senator Bob Dole visited a new BMW plant in South Carolina. He argued that the new jobs at the plant are precisely the kind of opportunities one can expect from free trade. Each of these candidates was trying to convince voters that his argument was right. Unfortunately for voters, economic theory suggests both are right. In the continuing public debate between free trade and pro-