Today we’ve published two new essays for Cato’s Defending Globalization project:

The “China Shock” Demystified: Its Origins, Effects, and Lessons for Today, by Scott Lincicome and Arjun Anand, explains that trade with China likely eliminated some US manufacturing jobs, but economists intensely debate the size of these losses—and few believe the China Shock justifies protectionism today.

Global Capital Flows and the Balanced Trade Myth, by Norbert Michel, discusses the US trade deficit and recent proposals to shrink it by taxing capital flows, and argues that such a policy is highly flawed on theoretical, empirical, and practical grounds.

This is the project’s last release for this year. We’ll be kicking off 2024 by hosting Dr. Ngozi Okonjo‐​Iweala, director‐​general of the World Trade Organization, at the Cato Institute on Friday, January 12, at 11 AM (EST). You can view more details and register to attend at this link. Seats are limited, so make sure you RSVP soon.

Make sure to check out the 22 other essays that have been published, as well as other multimedia features, on the main Defending Globalization project page.