How NAFTA shortened American life spans

MIT economist Amy Finkelstein co-authored a research paper, “Trading Goods for Lives: NAFTA’s Mortality Impacts and Implications,” cited in a New York Times article about the North America Free Trade Agreement’s (NAFTA) impact on American factory workers’ life spans. The paper asserts that communities that were more exposed to competition from Mexican imports saw a significant shortening of their life spans after the trade deal went into effect in 1994.