The rapid erection of tariff barriers between 1880 and 1914 should have choked off global commerce. In fact, no such thing occurred; between those two dates, the volume of world trade approximately tripled, driven by two forces. First, the steam engine continued to prove mightier than the customhouse, as savings on shipping costs more than made up for increased import duties. Second, the planet had grown much richer, with total world real GDP nearly quadrupling during that thirty-four-year period. All other things being equal, wealthier societies trade more, since they have more excess goods
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