Free Trade, James Tompkins

This is the third lecture in the "International Finance" series in which I discuss the impact of free trade on a nation's standard of living. I make up a very simple example with just two nations and two items to trade and based on some assumptions look at their standard of living in a pre and post free trade environment. I then critique the simplicity of the example and question whether or not it can realistically apply to the real world. This results in a rich discussion on several issues including why this topic is so fiercely debated, why have both Republican and Democratic Presidents signed free trade agreements, why do some environmentalists oppose free trade and what would be a counterargument? Finally the model concludes with an exchange rate as an outcome of trade as opposed to a condition of trade.

[wailal-ghamdi]

please disregard people who want you to "go faster" in your lectures. I enjoy your rhetoric and I think you made it very clear in your introduction video that you focused on understanding through practice. You have gained me as a listener for that reason. Often times its lengthy, but often times the extra back and forth solidifies my understanding. God bless you for your efforts

[najmlodsza]

I am a student from Poland, tomorrow I have and exam and you make this subject much more transparent, thank you :)

[iwontsayaword]

Great lecture. Love how you explain complex issues in calm and clear manner. Thanks!

[Spartanxc]

Interesting lecture especially given the current shift from free trade to protectionism

[SapienSafari]

Yes I live in ATL too and Publix is everywhere. Thank you for the vids.

[josephmbimbi]

A lot of ideology hidden behind biased questions imho, I find that a bit annoying, but I guess it is inevitable to not be biased when talking about economics.

But hey I am talking from a non neutral position myself, and I am not an economics expert, so make what you want if it

[jbucksteez]

It's clear that you are very knowledgeable in this subject. However, some constructive criticism if I may. If you continue to make educational videos, and I think you definitely should, you may want to consider the amount and length of all the pauses and rhetorical questions in your lecture. The cool thing about youtube, or any video for that matter, is that if you lose me for some reason I can rewind and listen to you again or look at your math again. Perhaps it's just me but it seems as if you pause often and for long periods of time every 20 seconds or so. You also ask questions to an invisible classroom where you should be simply stating the answer. The example you give for food and electronics in the U.S. and Mexico is an example you should get through in no more than 10 minutes but it took you nearly 30. Again, if for some reason an individual gets lost during a lecture on youtube they can go back again as many times as it takes for clarification. To be clear I admire you putting information online for people to better themselves but the pace is very slow. Thank you and good luck with your future videos