Livre comércio versus protecionismo: uma antiga controvérsia e suas novas feições

Abstract

Economists in the mainstream of Economic Thought have maintained a position in favour of  free trade since Adam Smith. Other economists, mainly those specialized in Economic Development, presented arguments in favour of  protectionist measures as part of an industrial policy for developing countries. A historical analysis of industrializing national processes seems to favour the second’s group position. This could be explained by arguments not captured by the conventional theory’s method of abstraction and its static nature. On other hand, protectionist measures are often adopted in developed or developing countries to garantee privileges of specific sectors, as it is taught by conventional theory. Even in nowdays, the strong predominance of  liberal thinking over economic policies is not exempted from many contradictions. These are the topic discussed in this paper.