Are we underestimating the gains from globalization for the United States?

Broda, Christian; Weinstein, David E.

Journal Article

Are we underestimating the gains from globalization for the United States?

Abstract: Over the last three decades, trade has more than tripled the variety of international goods available to U.S. consumers. Although an increased choice of goods clearly enhances consumer well-being, standard national measures of welfare and prices do not assign a value to variety growth. This analysis-the first effort to measure such gains-finds that the value to consumers of global variety growth in the 1972-2001 period was roughly $260 billion.

Keywords: Consumers; Quality of life; International trade; Globalization;