The classic definition of beggar-my-neighbour policies was provided in 1937 by the British economist Joan Robinson. It is well worth revisiting in light of current policies being pursued in Japan and in other rich economies.
For any one country, Robinson argued, an induced increase in exports relative to imports leads to more jobs. In addition to the initial increase in employment, there is a secondary increase from the money spent by the newly employed workers. The snag, as she pointed out, is that an increase in the exports of one country leads to a decline in exports of other countries, “everything else being equal”. At best “it leaves the level of employment for the world as a whole unaffected” and probably reduces it.
Robinson’s explanation of the probable consequences is also worth remembering. She wrote that “as soon as one country succeeds in increasing its trade balance at the expense of the rest, others retaliate” and the volume of international trade sinks as a proportion of world activity. “Political, strategic and sentimental considerations add fuel to the fire and the flames of economic nationalism blaze higher and higher.”