beggar-thy-neighbor en · ADJ
Etymology
From beggar-my-neighbor (“a card game”).
Meanings
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An economic policy that favors domestic interests at greater total cost to the economies of trading partners.
The traditional beggar-thy-neighbor view of older Keynesian models saw unilateral tariffs as having an expansionary effect on the domestic economy, due to their expenditure-switching effect, moving domestic demand away from foreign goods and towards domestic goods.
2025 May 14, Iván Werning, Guido Lorenzoni, Veronica Guerrieri, “Tariffs as Cost-Push Shocks: Implications for Optimal Monetary Policy”, in NBER Working Paper Series, number 33772, page 2:
Synonyms
protectionist (trade) · mercantilist (trade)