US free trade Blinder’s blurry vision

The threat of protectionism is rising in the US. Not only is the Democratic majority in Congress making noises against free trade, now leading economists are joining the act. Alan Blinder, a former vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve and adviser to the Clinton administration, is the latest dismal scientist to say that the pains of globalisation have been far greater than expected. The problem is that he’s identified the wrong culprit. Blinder and other economists who worry about globalisation ...