Paul Krugman, who won last year's Nobel prize in economics for his work on trade, wrote in 1993: "What a country really gains from trade is the ability to import things it wants. Exports are not an objective in and of themselves; the need to export is a burden that a country must bear because its import suppliers are crass enough to demand payment." This view does not dominate the public debate. Most are thrilled by the idea of export growth, but cower at the prospect of more imports.
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