The Unholy Social Trinity: Modeling Social Dumping under Conditions of Capital Mobility and Free Trade
Author(s)
Aspinwall, Mark
Abstract
Through a case study of shipping policy in Germany, Denmark and Norway this article examines the effects of increasing trade and foreign direct investment on policy autonomy. It suggests that the social dumping argument has merit, and draws a parallel to the Unholy Trinity model of monetary policy autonomy. In addition, classifying firm investment criteria according to whether they represent public goods, market costs, or policy costs helps determine the extent to which public policy may be affected by the competition for investment. This represents a departure from traditional models.