Joanna Dzialo,

Department of Economics, 

Lazarski University, 

Warsaw, Poland,

E-mail: jdzialo67@gmail.com

SOCIAL DEBATE ON FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS: ILLUSIONS VERSUS REALITY

Bogna Gawronska-Nowak,

Lazarski University, 

Warsaw, Poland,

E-mail: b.gawronska@lazarski.edu.pl

Jaroslaw Jura,

Lazarski University, 

Warsaw, Poland,

E-mail: jaroslaw.jura@gmail.com

Abstract. The paper reflects the problem of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) that recently have been raising vivid public discussion. The main focus of our study is to analyse the social debate on the FTA and to confront the social perception concerning the FTA with the so-called “expert knowledge”. This may contribute both to better understanding of the controversies on the FTA and to proper indicating the possible sources of social conflicts. The results obtained seem to prove that the mismatch between social perception and expert knowledge on the FTA does exist.

Received: January, 2017

1st Revision: March, 2017

Accepted: July, 2017

DOI: 10.14254/2071- 789X.2017/10-3/9

JEL Classification: F13, F14, F53, F55, Z13

Keywords: Free Trade Agreements (FTA), content analysis, social perception, policy making.