TRADE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT - THE ISSUES IN PERSPECTIVE

This special issue on trade and the environment brings together a numb er of papers that are constructively critical of the conventional econ omic wisdom on the topic. We think that this criticism is warranted be cause of the decidedly uncritical way in which ''free trade' has been advocated in much of the literature, and especially in policy. The pap ers analyse the validity of the underlying assumptions on which the co nventional wisdom is based, and provide suggestions for ways to facili tate trade that is also adequately protective of the environment, sust ainability, and other social values. In this introductory piece we dis cuss trade, the environment, and sustainability, summarizing arguments in the papers included in this issue, and adding a few additional poi nts not covered by them.