Why International Trade Theory Is not a Theory of International Trade.

Abstract

Joan Robinson’s critical work about the neoclassical theory of international trade reveals two distinct eras: 1946-1950, and the 1970s. During the first period, the analysis was focused on applying Keynes’ theory to this branch of economic doctrine. During the second period, fed by her pioneering deconstruction of the theory of capital, Robinson moved to the left of the political spectrum. Influenced by "new left" critiques of economic orthodoxy, she embraced the causes of the Third World and of ecology