If you were the Prime Minister of your own country, would you promote international trade or promote the protection of your own industries? Explain
Discussion
If I were the Prime Minister of my country, I would promote international trade to achieve economic growth. I would apply the concept of classical economists to the view of economic growth and the development of nations. According to classical economists such as Adam Smith, the growth of a country is not only achieved by a great focus on labour, capital, and land; instead, the growth of a country is greatly influenced by social, economic, and political structures developed by the governments (Ucak, 2015). I would focus on strengthening economic, social, and political structures to improve international trade between my country and other nations.
In addition to the views of Adam Smith, a country is less likely to produce all products that they need at a lower cost. With the differences in the endowment of natural resources such as minerals, countries are more likely to produce what they have a competitive advantage on and import those that they would produce at a high cost (Porter, 1990). In line with this concept, I would promote international trade by signing free trade agreements with strategic counties. Such free trade agreements would focus on lower import tariffs to enable our trade partners to provide goods at a lower cost. Lower tariffs will also ensure that the imported products are affordable for the local consumers.
I would strengthen political and social structures by partnering with neighbouring countries and building peaceful coexistence in the region. Even though the competitive nature of the environment may create difficulties in achieving sustainable political and social structures, I would focus on promoting free trade with other counties that produce products and services that we cannot produce at a lower cost locally. In the long run, international trade will promote the growth of our industries and provide essential goods and services to local consumers.
References
Porter, M. 1990. The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Harvard Business School. https://hbr.org/1990/03/the-competitive-advantage-of-nations
Ucak, A. 2015. Adam Smith: The Inspirer of Modern Growth Theories. World Conference on Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Social and Behavioural Sciences. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.258