Hot Topic: Trade Wars – Economics Awakens
By Ninos Malek, May 2018
INTRODUCTION:
“Trade wars are good and easy to win.” ~President Donald Trump
“Wars make not a person great.” ~Jedi Master Yoda
Have you ever traded baseball cards or lunch items with a friend? What made you trade? If your friend has done something to irritate you, and you decide to punish him by saying: “This is war! I am not trading with you anymore!” is your friend the only one who will lose? In a war, there are winners and there are losers. We refer to that as a zero-sum game. However, when two individuals voluntarily trade, then both individuals are winning, or the trade would not have taken place. We refer to that as a positive-sum game.
So if trade is a positive-sum game and war is a zero-sum game, what about a “trade war”?
KEY CONCEPTS:
- International Trade
- Trade Barriers
- Balance of Trade
- Public Choice Theory
MATERIALS:
Download Trade Wars – Economics Awakens classroom materials.
- Essay (Student Reading)
- Student Handout
- Teacher Guide
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