Trade is good for your health, especially if you are poor

Anti-globalists frequently complain that increasing international trade is bad for the poor, as it leaves them at the mercy of international competition and ruthless multinationals.

New findings suggests that increased trade is actually very good for the poor, in particular their health.  Over at the Free Market Foundation, economist Jasson Urbach reports on this evidence that trade improves health through the twin mechanisms of economic growth and technology transfer.

I wrote a study on this theme a couple of years ago. I made the point that the massive increases in global life expectancy that characterised the 20th century were largely down to increased trade - this period saw the global spread of health knowledge such as sanitation, as well as technologies such as vaccinations and antibiotics.