Intuitively, trade liberalisation should increase the appeal of left-wing parties that offer to protect workers with protectionist policies. Evidence from Brazil shows how liberalisation actually reduced votes for the left by undermining labour unions, the traditional support base of many left-wing parties.

Evidence on trade shocks in Brazil shows that, despite reducing household incomes, child health improved in hard-hit areas as parents, particularly mothers, had fewer labour market opportunities outside the home and therefore more time to invest in their children

Improvements in road infrastructure magnify firm productivity gains from input tariff liberalisation

Domestic policies should do more to address inequality in the gains from international trade

In Brazil, shifts into non-tradables, non-employment and informal employment are important margins of labour adjustment to import competition

Liberalising trade and FDI is key to the promotion of domestic value added into a country’s exports, as the Chinese experience highlights

Homicides increased in Brazilian regions exposed to greater foreign competition following trade liberalisation, with employment rates the main driver

Starting from a closed economy, trade liberalisation increases wage inequality; as costs fall further, wage inequality peaks and also starts to fall

The Brazilian economy did not adjust to trade liberalisation as economists would expect. This column explains these results and their implications