Industrial Adjustment and Welfare: The Destruction of Communities and Ways of Life

Both labour groups and the national press frequently justify demands for protection against industrial adjustment on the grounds that it leads to the destruction of communities and traditional ways of life,with a devastating effect on welfare. To justify this claim in the context of a Ricardian open‐economy model requires quite strong restrictions on worker preferences, but a plausible case can be made. Presents a model based on the attachment of workers to their socio‐cultural environment, and suggests some policy options for redressing trade‐induced inequities.