Church of Free Trade's Apostates

Arlington, Va.

Inspired by the controversial work of William Baumol and Ralph Gomory, William Greider argues that those of us who oppose protectionism today are mindless members of "the church of global free trade" ["The Establishment Rethinks Globalization," April 30]. But it is Greider and his ilk who are blinded by a faith wholly at odds with reality. If it were true that the developing world's large supply of highly skilled but low-paid workers inevitably attracts capital away from high-wage countries such as the United States, foreign direct investment in open developing countries would be higher than in the United States. It's not. In 2006, China attracted $46 of FDI per capita; India attracted just over $14 per capita; the United States attracted $578 per capita.

DONALD J. BOUDREAUX
Chair, department of economics
George Mason University

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