Panagariya's new book makes a timely case for free trade amid trade wars

It must be made required reading in the commerce ministry, the finance ministry and the PMO

Free Trade and Prosperity 

How Openness Helps Developing Countries Grow Richer and Combat Poverty  

Arvind Panagariya 

Oxford University Press 

327  pages; Rs 695 

Arvind Panagariya's new book is to be welcomed whole-heartedly for two reasons. First, the subject is one of the most important of our times. A world of Donald Trump and America First, attacks on the World Trade Organization, and statements in favour of mercantilism needs a counter-view. Second, the author is one of our most illustrious economists and a world-class academic, having served with distinction as the first vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog for three years of the Modi government.