Some reflections on Governing the market

Professor Robert Wade’s Governing the Market provides one of the strongest sustained arguments in economic literature for the two following propositions: first, that the orthodox economic case for free trade, though often made, has rarely proved entirely persuasive; and second, beyond doubt, economic orthodoxy is the relentless enemy of understanding. The new Introduction to Wade’s republished opus makes clear, however (though with considerable regret) that a form of “free trade” based on orthodox fundamentalism is resurgent. The goal of this paper is to reflect on two key ideas in the new Introduction that underlie Wade’s explanation of both this resurgence and its implications for national development strategies.