Inequality and trade: Some insights from the history of economic thought

ABSTRACT

Perceptions of income inequality and social insecurity are increasing in advanced economies of the North-Western hemisphere. They are widely associated with offshoring and related phenomena of the transnationalization of production and finance. This article examines the capacity and limits of standard trade theory in explaining the links between trade and inequality. It suggests avenues for gaining further insights by taking recourse to the larger inventory of theories and concepts in the history of economic thought.