The importance of international trade for economic development cannot be overemphasized. But free trade is not the best path to economic development. Trade helps economic development only when the country employs a mixture of protection and open trade, constantly adjusting it according to its changing needs and capabilities. Trade is simply too important for economic development to be left to free trade economists.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The importance of international trade for economic development cannot be overemphasized. But free trade is not the best path to economic development. Trade helps economic development only when the country employs a mixture of protection and open trade, constantly adjusting it according to its changing needs and capabilities. Trade is simply too important for economic development to be left to free trade economists." in the context of "Ha-Joon Chang, Bad Samaritans (2008), Ch. 3: My six-year-old son should get a job; Is free trade always the answer?, More trade, fewer ideologies, p. 68." to mean that wisdom is timeless.