Assisting American Workers and Their Families Adversely Affected by Globalization

Abstract

Globalization has intensified competition throughout the U.S. economy. The process has both benefits and costs. Everyone benefits by buying more goods at lower prices. At the same time, some workers experience unemployment and earnings losses due to plant closings and sending jobs overseas. Recent studies suggest that the benefits to the U.S. economy related to trade liberalization are large and widely distributed. 1 Although the costs associated with opening the economy to increased international competition are significant to those incurring them, they tend to be smaller and more highly concentrated than the economic benefits.