Competition and Free Trade
The concepts of competition and free trade are absolutely central for the under-
standing of human societies but are also often subject to fear and criticism. It
is not possible to understand what competition really is without referring to the
concept of freedom; free trade must be understood, also, as the way to expand the
scope of competition.
This book analyzes the two concepts as closely interlinked by approaching
them in two parts. The frst, ‘Competition’, introduces the reader to the tradi-
tional competition model, and explores the dynamics and range of the term in an
authoritative way. The second part, ‘Free Trade’, examines the different types of
trade, and analyzes them in a wealth of contexts, from customs duties to import
quotas. With discussions of protectionist arguments, politics, liberalization, and
history, the author presents an overview of how competition and free trade operate
in the real world.
This book dispels the fears and misunderstandings that have developed around
these central pillars of the modern economy. It is essential reading for those study-
ing international economics, international trade, political economy, or corporate
fnance.
Pascal Salin is Honorary Professor of Economics at Universit Paris – Dauphine,
France.
Routledge Foundations of the Market Economy
Edited by Mario J. Rizzo, New York University, and Lawrence
H. White, George Mason University
For a full list of titles in this series, please visit routledge/series/SE0104
A central theme in this series is the importance of understanding and assessing the
market economy from a perspective broader than the static economics of perfect
competition and Pareto optimality. Such a perspective sees markets as causal pro-
cesses generated by the preferences, expectations, and beliefs of economic agents.
The creative acts of entrepreneurship that uncover new information about prefer-
ences, prices, and technology are central to these processes with respect to their
ability to promote the discovery and use of knowledge in society.
The market economy consists of a set of institutions that facilitate voluntary
cooperation and exchange among individuals. These institutions include the legal
and ethical framework as well as more narrowly ‘economic’ patterns of social
interaction. Thus the law, legal institutions, and cultural and ethical norms, as well
as ordinary business practices and monetary phenomena, fall within the analytical
domain of the economist.
30 Markets, Morals, and Policy-making
A new defence of free-market economics
Enrico Colombatto
31 Understanding the Culture of Markets
Virgil Storr
32 Producing Prosperity
An inquiry into the operation of the market process
Randall G. Holcombe
33 Austrian Economics Re-examined
The economics of time and ignorance
Mario Rizzo and Gerald P O’Driscoll Jr
34 Economic and Political Change after Crisis
Prospects for government, liberty, and the rule of law
Edited by Stephen H. Balch and Benjamin Powell
35 Competition and Free Trade
Pascal Salin
Competition and Free Trade
Pascal Salin。