Coping with shocks and shifts
Subtitle: the multilateral trading system in historical perspective
By: Douglas A. Irwin, Kevin H. O'Rourke
Contributors: O'Rourke, Kevin H.; National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 17598; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 17598.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "This paper provides a historical look at how the multilateral trading system has coped with the challenge of shocks and shifts.  By shocks we mean sudden jolts to the world economy in the form of financial crises and deep recessions, or wars and political conflicts.  By shifts we mean slow-moving, long-term changes in comparative advantage or shifts in the geopolitical equilibrium that force economies to undergo disruptive and potentially painful adjustments.  We conclude that most shocks (financial crises and regional wars) have had relatively little effect on trade policy, but that shifts pose a greater challenge to the system of open, multilateral trade"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 1/17/2012.

Includes bibliographical references.

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