In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was great enthusiasm globally to allow China into the World Trade Organization, with the expectation that it would become the factory for the world. Chinese workers would be enriched, and everyone else would benefit from cheaper products. Indeed, based on some measures, this move did work: It drove incredible economies of scale and allowed consumers everywhere to buy cheap and often fairly well-made products from huge box stores, stretching our budgets further and improving our welfare. It is estimated that middle-class Americans, on average, gained 29%
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