EU protectionism keeps cows out of the business class
May 26, 2008
Recently I read a comment about the cost of EU protectionism. (the source apparently was a book “In defense of global capitalism” by Nordberg) It was said that EU protectionism deprives developing countries of USD 700 bn in export income a year. 14 times the amount that these countries receive in foreign aid! Moreover, it was said that protectionism also takes a toll on the citizens of rich countries; USD 1 bn a day. And then came the funny comment: at that rate you could fly all 60 million cows in the OECD countries, around the world every year in business class. In addition the cows could be given almost USD 3000,= each in pocket money to spend in tax-free shops during there stopovers.
Maybe European airliners should fight EU protectionism and restyle their business class to cater an entirely new market. From an economic perspective they could use it. (But it would require quite some trees to compensate for the CO2.) However I would like to advocate a broader support for taking down protectionist measures and give developing countries a fair position in the world economy. Wouldn’t that be a “win-win-option”?
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