EclectEcon

Economics and the mid-life crisis have much in common: Both dwell on foregone opportunities

C'est la vie; c'est la guerre; c'est la pomme de terre . . . . . . . . . . . . . email: jpalmer at uwo dot ca


. . . . . . . . . . .Richard Posner should be awarded the next Nobel Prize in Economics . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sunday, December 19, 2004

The High Price of Cement

I confess that I have not noticed any recent rapid and large increase in the price of cement (but it's not a completely new phenomenon - check out the dates on the articles here). It seems plausible that the high prices in the U.S. are the result of alleged anti-dumping policies of the United States against cement produced in Mexico (for example, see here and here). These barriers to trade restrict competition from foreign producers, enabling less efficient U.S. producers to charge higher prices.

Pathetic. Clearly the gains from lobbying outweigh the strength of arguments concerning gains from trade.
 
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