About the Event

Fair trade is an enormously popular idea in Christian and secular circles alike. Who, after all, could be against fairness? There are now fair trade certified products as varied as coffee, chocolate, fruit, and, most appropriate for an Acton on Tap audience, beer. Victor V. Claar, associate professor of economics at Henderson State University and co-author of Economics in Christian Perspective, however, raises significant economic and moral questions about both the logic and economic reasoning underlying the fair trade movement. Claar suggests that, for all its good intentions, fair trade may not be of particular service to the poor, especially in the developing world.

April 9, 2011 Interview in World magazine http://www.worldmag.com/articles/17811

About the Speaker

Dr. Victor Claar is a professor of Economics at Henderson State University, the public liberal arts university of Arkansas, where he specializes in teaching principles of economics courses. He also serves on both the graduate faculty and the Honors College faculty. He writes for both economists and non-economists, and is the author of Economics in Christian Perspective and, most recently, Fair Trade? Its Prospects as a Poverty Solution. Prior to arriving at Henderson, Dr. Claar taught for nine years at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where he held the rank of associate professor with tenure. Dr. Claar spent a recent year as a Fulbright Scholar, conducting research and giving graduate lectures at the American University of Armenia.