Of some myths and a quiz

Back to some weekend trade readings:

CATO has this interesting set of articles on globalization - called the Defending Globalization. Two articles in it is close to what this blog is about - international trade;

1. James Bacchus has written succinctly and brilliantly on the myths and truths surrounding the World Trade Organization - on how views on the creation, motivations and agenda surrounding the WTO are mixed. That free trade doesn't really mean no barriers at all in the context of global trade rules and on how the dispute settlement mechanism works.

2. Simon Lester writes about the confusion around what free trade agreements are all about. They are not about unbridled free trade but reduced barriers with set rules of the game. Of course, it depends on the political appetite and economic realities in countries which determine the extent to which they are willling to go in these trade agreements - shallow or deep trade agreements as the World Bank calls them.

Lastly an interesting quiz on international trade. Having been a trade negotiator myself but now a jaded one at that, I decided to bite the bullet and take it. Though largely US-centric, I faired pretty okay and got this certificate:

Time to restart active blogging!