Viendo llover en Macondo: Una visión secular del proteccionismo

Abstract

A medida que la crisis financiera se extiende hacia la economía real los países han recurrido a una suerte de "proteccionismo de rescate" acompañado de políticas de apuntalamiento de la demanda. La protección es puntual, contingente,legalizada. Se trata de reconocer que no existen zonas oscuras de proteccionismo y zonas transparentes de librecambio, sino una continua y constante combinación de regulación selectiva.

As the ripples of the financial crisis make their way into real economy governments have resorted to a series of anti-cyclical measures. In order to tackle negative impacts on levels of production andemployment, in a sort of “salvation/rescue/last-resource protectionism” hand in hand with active demand management. While, under normal circumstances this would entail an undesirable distortion of incentives, within a crisis context, and in the absence of a “first best” –perfect policy coordi-nation among countries–, a precise, contingent and legalized degree of protectionism, transparently implemented and subject to public scrutiny, can lead to a greater general welfare. In essence, there are no “black” times of protectionism and “white” times of free trade, but rather a continuous com-bination of liberalization and selective regulation.