North American Free Trade

The proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) represents a historic change in relations among Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The effect of the agreement on the three economies has generated controversy and some degree of alarm within each country.

In this book, noted trade and development experts review the available literature on the effects of NAFTA on the three member countries and the world trading system. They evaluate how NAFTA will affect areas such as economic growth, employment, income distribution, industry, and agriculture in Canada, Mexico, and the United States; and consider the significance the trade agreement holds for the rest of the world.

Drusill K. Brown begins the discussion by providing an overview and comparison of the general results from recent studies. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda and Sherman Robinson explore in greater detail the potential effects of NAFTA on wages and employment in Mexico and the United States. Sidney Wintrab reviews industry-specific effects of NAFTA, in particular, the environment, the social agenda, and human rights and democracy. Finally, Carlos Alberto Primo Braga considers the implications of NAFTA on the rest of the world.

Following each of these chapters, international scholars assess the alternatives and provide recommendations for future research.

Nora Lustig is Samuel Z. Stone Professor of Latin American Economics at Tulane University and a nonresident fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C. She previously served as director of the Poverty Group at UNDP, as senior advisor and chief of the Poverty and Inequality Unit at the Inter-American Development Bank, and as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her books include Mexico: The Remaking of an Economy (Brookings, 1992), which was selected as an Outstanding Academic Book by Choice magazine. Barry Bosworth is a senior fellow and Robert V. Roosa Chair in International Economics at the Brookings Institution. Robert Z. Lawrence is Albert L. Williams Professor of International Trade and Investment at the Kennedy School of Government. He is also a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics, and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He served as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers from 1998 to 2000. Lawrence has also been a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. His books include Globaphobia: Confronting Fears about Open Trade (Brookings, 1998) and Single World, Divided Nations? International Trade and the OECD Labor Markets (Brookings/OECD, 1996).