EconTalk Archives, 2007

Boudreaux on the Economics of "Buy Local"

04.16.2007 - By EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and LibertyPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Proponents of buying local argue that it is better to buy from the local hardware store owner and nearby farmer than from the Big Box chain store or the grocery store headquartered out of town because the money from the purchase is more likely to "stay in the local economy." Don Boudreaux of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the economics of this idea. Is it better to buy local than from a seller based out of town? Is it better to buy American than to buy foreign products? Does the money matter? In this conversation, Boudreaux and Roberts pierce through the veil of money to expose what trade, whether local, national, or international, really accomplishes.

More episodes from EconTalk Archives, 2007