The outcome of the US presidential election on 9 November was historic in that it provides a yardstick against which to assess where popular sentiment is heading on important issues such as globalization, inequality, and international trade.

Painting the result as a sheer rupture of distaste against establishment politics or anger among those that feel left behind is too simplistic, and might be overlooking the underlying mega changes happening in the popular mindset.

Beyond growing inequality, a shrinking middle class and backlash against globalization, one plausible reason could be unequal distribution of benefits from globalization and free trade.

Although traditional notion of the benefits of specialization and gains from trade prevails in the academia as well as in our everyday life, the debate surrounding the unfair distribution of benefits and job losses due to cheap imports during the US election campaign.