Just Trading: On the Ethics and Economics of International Trade (the Churches' Center for Theology and Public Pol

Finn's book is an excellent attempt to bring together sophisticated Christian ethics with solid economic analysis. The book is well written, and not beyond the comprehension of undergraduate students. I have had great success teaching it at the junior and senior college level. What I appreciate about it most is its effort to be clear-eyed, pragmatic, and non-ideological in its moral assessment of trade. I also agree strongly with Finn's idea that Christian ethics and economic analysis should inform each other. Too often economists ask for ethical advice from theologians, and when they get it, complain that it is not well informed on economics. Economists really believe that there is only one way things can turn out, so the ethical perspective really is irrelevant. Finn doesn't do that. The one problem with the book is that he doesn't let the ethics inform the economics enough. For instance, in the chapter on agriculture, he claims that an increase in agricultural imports from LDCs will benefit the poor in the LDCs. When you look at the ownership of LDC agricultural resources, and the organization of LDC agricultural labor markets, I'm not so sure that's true. Similarly, I don't think the author works hard enough to explain the decline in wages in the US between the 70s and the 90s, and show why it is mostly not related to trade. But most of the time, the economics is right on. I appreciate this book very much, and I wish there were more like it.