Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium
Presidential Trade Promotion Authority expires at midnight on
Saturday, June 30, a demise of free trade that is occurring more
with a whimper than a bang. A handful of concluded bilateral
deals are being amended. And the Doha round of WTO negotiations is
in shambles once again. Why is the idea of free trade so
distrusted by voters in spite of a consensus among academic
economists?
Dr. Bryan Caplan argues that voter irrationality is part of
democracy and that it is marked by four big biases which
distinguish beliefs of ordinary people from the beliefs of
economists. Rational consumers often make irrational voters,
and politicians often foment that irrationality. In light of
the collapse of Trade Promotion Authority and the suspension of the
Doha-round trade talks, voter irrationality seems to be a key
feature of American foreign policy. Join us as Dr. Caplan
addresses the current dilemma for trade freedom and Philip Levy,
trade expert and recent Administration economist, offers
commentary.
More About the Speakers
Bryan Caplan, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics,
George Mason University, and
Author of The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies
Choose Bad Policies?
With Commentary from:
Philip Levy, Ph.D.
Resident Scholar,
American Enterprise Institute
Hosted By
Tim Kane, Ph.D.
Visiting Fellow
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