Economic geography, politics, and the world trade regime

Stephanie Rickard

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Although globalization and the world trade regime have reduced the significance of distance between countries, within countries geography matters now more than ever. Inside countries' borders, economic activities, such as production and employment, occur unevenly across space. As a result, international trade impacts parts of a country differently. Some areas benefit from rising trade, while others experience reductions in local wages and employment as a result of increased import competition. Because regions' experience of globalization varies, public opinion about trade differs across geographic areas within countries. Voters living in regions advantaged by trade are more likely to support economic openness, while voters living in regions negatively impacted by trade are more skeptical of the benefits of globalization. The geographic disparities in public attitudes towards trade often align with salient political cleavages. As a result, debates over trade have become increasingly polarized in many countries, which may threaten states' continued economic openness as well as their engagement with, and even support for, the world trade regime.

Keywords: economic geography; international trade; trade politics; trade policy; globalization; WTO; local labor markets; left behind places; sub-national trade effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 13 pages
Date: 2022-07-14
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-int and nep-pol
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in World Trade Review, 14, July, 2022, 21(3), pp. 367 - 379. ISSN: 1474-7456

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