This book contains all the very best thinking done in international trade. The book is very densely written, and definitely aimed at those taking graduate level courses (with a good mathematical background). The explanations are very good, especially for graphs (a major shortcoming of most economics texts I think). This book serves as a permanent one-volume reference to any issues regarding international trade.

Although international trade theory/international economics is not the field I would like to specialize in, this is one of the textbooks I would like to buy and keep as a reference. The writing is clear; the authors make an effort to explain almost every step of an equation. Moreover, the graphs are fully explained. I highly recommend this book. I regret that I only used this book for one course, so we were not able to use it more. For graduate level trade theory, I do not think this textbook has a competitor.

This volume synthesizes decades of research in international trade theory. It is comprehensive, and graduate students and working professionals will find it a handy summary of a huge corpus of research. Material is presented in verbal, graphical, and light algebraic form, and the key background references are given at the end of each chapter. These are a little sparse but this is a quibble.

Be forewarned: the book is densely written (Jagdish saves his spare words for his polemics), and generations of graduate students have told me that they hate it. Big deal. This is the castor oil of international trade theory -- open up and drink it down -- it's good for you.

This man is an intellectual dynamo. Bhagwati says that as an academic his public articles have to be merely the tip of the iceberg (his words) representing the years of careful model-building and thought. If the articles in this compilation are the tip, we should be awed at the prospect of the iceberg. And his style isn't stilted , it is ice-dancing on top of the iceberg.

Can protectionism be justified , either as a first-best or as a second-best policy?

Is there any truth behind the allegation that the Japanese system is rigged to preclude foreign competition?

Is trade responsible for the plight of the unskilled Western proletariat? Or is technological change the major causal factor? Is the average price of labor-intensive goods actually rising or falling in the free-trade world? Bhagwati says" The pressure on the wages at the bottom is overwhelmingly due to domestic technical change; the job insecurity in the middle and at the top is primarily due to the Global Age. "

Does the new "blue" and "green" protectionism pass intellectual scrutiny? Is the "fair trade before free trade" slogan as morally sharp as it appears, or does it fail to consider all moral alternatives?

Does growth lead to deteriorating environment? Or is this sloppy thinking unsupported by empirical data? What does the data say?

Will free trade lead to a "race to the bottom" in environmental standards? Or will the rising consciousness about environmentalism throughout the world , even in poor countries like India(with an environment-friendly Supreme Court, for instance) , prevent such a thing? In other words, is the "race to the bottom" a mere theoretical possibility or a real practical danger? Will countries really lower environmental standards drastically to reduce cost of business? Or will other factors like tax incentives dominate over environmental regulation during investment decisions, thereby leaving the "race to the bottom" a mere theoretical fear ? Similarly will there be a real as opposed to a theoretical race to the bottom regarding labor standards?

Does it make sense to prescribe "one size fits all" enviro standards for different countries in different stages of development, like less developed countries ? Or uniform labor standards? Would many other countries then be right in demanding that the US, where worker and union protections are really weak, should pass different labor laws than it has at the moment? Should countries at a level of development of the US at the beginning of the 20th century be forced to adopt enviro and labor standards that weren't adopted in the West until recently? As Bhagwati says in the book " Mexico has a greater social incentive than does the United States to spend an extra dollar preventing dysentery rather than reducing lead in gasoline ".

Two quotes from the book

"Environmentalists have cause for concern. Not all concerns are legitimate, however, and not all the solutions to legitimate concerns are sensible. "

"It is surely tragic that the proponents of two of the great causes of the 1990s, trade and the environment, should be locked in combat. The conflict is largely gratuitous. There are at times philosophical differences between the two that cannot be reconciled, as when some environmentalists assert nature's autonomy, whereas most economists see nature as a handmaiden to humankind. For the most part, however, the differences derive from misconceptions. It is necessary to dissect and dismiss the more egregious of these fallacies before addressing the genuine problems."

Bhagwati also punctures "zero-sum" win-lose scary movies of globalization , not just by pointing to the win-win nature of trade based on comparative advantage analysis, but also by pointing to fallacies underlying arguments that call for promoting so called "high value-added" industries.

Discussions of globalization often founder on ideological rocks, and cool dispassionate analysis is short in coming. If one is to carry away one message from this book, it is that trade does not have to be viewed through "left-wing" or "right-wing" glasses. Cool-headed analysis is called for on an instrument that has the potential for doing do much good to so many. Another lesson to carry away from this book, I think, is that "free trade" is not some knee-jerk accompaniment to "free markets" , so that everytime you say one , you also say the other - the case for free trade is based on careful analysis based on comparative advantage. Redistributive effects of trade , like hurting unskilled workers in one country at the expense of skilled workers in the same country, are a theoretical possibility. Only empirircal data can show if this effect is large , or small and swamped by other effects like technology.

In a world where we are innundated with books by some "expert" or the other mouthing his or her own analysis of the globalized world, as a layman I would much rather trust this TIP OF THE ICEBERG backed by solid academic thinking.

In this book, the prominent trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati examines a wide range of issues on mutlilateral trade and international economics. A strong advocate of free trade and democracy, Bhagwati has presented a conscientious "stream" of strong arguments against protectionism. His previous experience with the then GATT has added further strength and flavour to his arguments. What is more - Bhagwati's writing is clear, succinct and yet highly entertaining - the essays are short proses aiming at the general public. An excellent collection of essays for readers who are interested in international trade policy issues but not professionally trained in economics. Highly recommended.

Okay, I would have given 5 stars , but I wrote a "rave review" for Professor Bhagwati's other collection of articles ( Stream of Windows). So I am holding back on this one.

This collection is a collection of more recent essays. To a large extent he deals with much of the same issues as in Stream of Windows - are Free Trade Agreements ( what he calls Preferential Trade Agreements) really free trade? Is the "blue" and "green" protectionism based on solid arguments or incomplete analysis? etc

The one new section is on Capital Controls. There is a series of articles , especially his famous/notorious Foreign Affairs article, where he argues that while trade in goods and services has gains that have been demonstrated, those in short-term capital haven't been so unambiguously demonstrated. Therefore he advises restraint about capital account convertibility to those who haven't done so already. His caution is based not just on the irrationalities of the 97 East Asia crisis , but also on careful analyses by several economists which show that speculators who bet against a country's fundamentals are not (necessarily) punished. They can actually change the fundamentals. Therefore short-term capital flow can have noxious effects not associated with trade in goods and services.

Anyway, good collection, yes repetitive (as another reader says) like the Stream of Windows , but ultimately good reading about careful thoughts on globalization , as opposed to all this pop-literature floating around. Some intellectual discipline for a layman like me.

Columbia Economist Jagdish Bhagwati is an funny, intelligent, and highly persuasive writer on free trade. He argues (among other things) that we should separate the economic agenda of the WTO from other social, moral, and environmental agendas, and that those who oppose free trade effectively undermine the social goals they seek to support. Like his student Paul Krugman, Bhagwati has a gift for making complex economic arguments seem transparent to non-economists. The issues are *not* really transparent, and readers who desire a balanced view should read opposing voices as well. But opponents of free trade and the WTO must lend Bhagwati's arguments an ear and an open mind. This book is an enjoyable "must read," and might serve as an introduction to Bhagwati's more technical works.

Is FTAA a good idea? Which topics should be covered in future trade talks? Bhagwati will help you structure your ideas on trade. He will teach you how trade talks should develop, and which of the recent happenings in this field that are purely Pyrrhus victories. On the way, you will also enjoy the usual pie-throwing among economists. Unfortunately, you might also come across an instance when an argument is backed by poor evidence - which is a shame when there ought to be plenty of good evidence available.

If only all those opposing free trade would feel a need to inform themselves, this book could help (as could a basic course in macroeconomics). But this book is compiled of several all too similar essays, which is why I hope Bhagwati writes more soon. Reading this book is like dipping only your toe in the water on a hot summer day.

Don't let this slim volume lead you to believe this is a book of light reading. The essays it contains are extremely valuable and packed tight with information, insight, and great thinking.

There are also many very valuable footnotes that can lead you to deeper reading on the subject of the current state of thinking on the very important topic of Free Trade.

Dr. Bhagwati is a stalwart of Free Trade and has the intellectual and verbal firepower to stand up for this very important concept and its role in relieving poverty around the world. He isn't a beautiful writer, but he certainly is effective and I am so glad to be able to have his writing and thinking available to me.

This book is a fine addition and should be read by those on both sides of this issue with an open mind. Dr. Bhagwati is one of those important thinkers that will benefit your own thinking even when you disagree with them because it will force you to sharpen your own thinking and force you to build better arguments.

One of the great parts of the first essay is when he takes us through the sequence of thought as arguments were put forward, successfully attacked and new models were built, attacked, and re-built until the present day. He is also very honest about the current weaknesses in present models and possible paths to pursue as a way to solve them. Just very valuable stuff.