--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People tend to think about trade as if…" description: "\"People tend to think about trade as if it's competition between companies - if Apple wins, Google loses. But that's false. Trade makes nations better o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/david-autor-14811_apple_people-tend-to-think-about-trade-as-if-i_1452926.jpg" --- # People tend to think about trade as if it's competition… ![“People tend to think about trade as if it's competition between companies - if Apple wins, Google loses. But that's false. Trade makes nations better off in general. Now, I want to be clear. I'm not saying that everything about trade is good and beneficial. Trade also has costs.” quote by David Autor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/david-autor-14811_apple_people-tend-to-think-about-trade-as-if-i_1452926.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/david-autor-14811_apple_people-tend-to-think-about-trade-as-if-i_1452926.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/david-autor-14811_apple_people-tend-to-think-about-trade-as-if-i_1452926.jpg) > “People tend to think about trade as if it's competition between companies - if Apple wins, Google loses. But that's false. Trade makes nations better off in general. Now, I want to be clear. I'm not saying that everything about trade is good and beneficial. Trade also has costs.” [David Autor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-autor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Trade is a mutually beneficial exchange that generally improves welfare, though it also entails costs and distributional effects. **In simple terms:** Trade benefits all, but has side effects. Key Takeaway Weigh trade benefits against its costs. Themes economics trade policy Mood analytical balanced Type economic policy When to use this quote - government policy - business strategy - international negotiations Key Concepts comparative advantage distributional impact Questions to Reflect On - What policies can mitigate trade’s negative effects? - How do we measure trade’s overall welfare impact? A Different Perspective Trade gains are not equally shared. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apple/) [Beneficial Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beneficial-trade-5229955/) [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Google](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/google/) [Think Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-trade-2259932/) [Trade Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade-competition-5041462/) [Trade Costs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade-costs-2850978/) [Trade Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade-good-656459/) ## Related quotes > [To some, a cap-and-trade system might sound like a neat approach where the market sorts everything out. But in fact, in some ways it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/to-some-a-cap-and-trade-system-might-sound-like-a-neat-approach-where/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [Let every nation, right now, do what is best for all citizens of the world: eliminate every form of intervention that would prevent or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-rockwell/let-every-nation-right-now-do-what-is-best-for-all-citizens-of-the/) [Llewellyn Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-rockwell/) > [I think it is one of the fundamentals, not only of the European Union but also of free trade, that competition is fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margrethe-vestager/i-think-it-is-one-of-the-fundamentals-not-only-of-the-european-union/) [Margrethe Vestager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margrethe-vestager/) > [I think our trade policies, for many, many years, have been a disaster. They have benefited corporate America at the expense of working people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-think-our-trade-policies-for-many-many-years-have-been-a-disaster/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [ “\[A\] central theme is why social, political, and economic institutions tend to coevolve in a manner that reinforces rather than undermines one another. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torben-iversen/a-central-theme-is-why-social-political-and-economic-institutions/) [Torben Iversen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torben-iversen/) > [I think that trade is an important issue. Of course, we are 5 percent of the world's population; we have to trade with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-think-that-trade-is-an-important-issue-of-course-we-are-5-percent/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We want free trade but we want free trade that is good. 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Yes, all of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/overall-do-i-believe-exchange-with-other-cultures-is-good-people/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [I don't know that free trade... is good for our country and good for Iowa and Iowa workers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-judge/i-don-t-know-that-free-trade-is-good-for-our-country-and-good-for/) [Patty Judge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-judge/) > [Someday we will dare to trade good for true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/someday-we-will-dare-to-trade-good-for-true/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) > [You can be dogmatic, like Donald Trump, and say don't tell me any of the facts, I have made up my mind, I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-trumka/you-can-be-dogmatic-like-donald-trump-and-say-don-t-tell-me-any-of/) [Richard Trumka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-trumka/) > [I love free trade. 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And the good Lord will forgive me: that's his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-the-great/i-shall-be-an-autocrat-that-s-my-trade-and-the-good-lord-will-forgive/) [Catherine the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-the-great/) ## More by David Autor > [The average worker in 2015 wanting to attain the average living standard in 1915 could do so by working just 17 weeks a year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-autor/the-average-worker-in-2015-wanting-to-attain-the-average-living/) [David Autor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-autor/) > [I did software development for a while, and I also spent several years directing a nonprofit in San Francisco that did computer education for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-autor/i-did-software-development-for-a-while-and-i-also-spent-several-years/) [David Autor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-autor/) > [China's rise is really a kind of a world historical event. 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