The political economy of trade policy

13 important questions on The political economy of trade policy

What is the efficiency case for free trade?

The reverse of the cost-benefit analysis of a tariff. A trade restriction leads to production and consumption distortions

How do protected markets limit gains from external economies of scale?

By inhibiting the concentration of industries

How do protected markets limit gains from internal economies of scale?

They fragment production internationally, but by reducing competition and raising profits, they also lead to too many firms entering the protected industry.
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Why does free trade offer more opportunities for learning and innovation?

Because it provides entrepreneurs with an incentive to seek new ways to export and to compete with imports.

What is rent seeking?

When imports are restricted with a quota rather than a tariff, the cost is sometimes magnified by a process known as rent seeking.

What does a political argument for free trade reflect?

The fact that a political commitment to free trade may be a good idea in practice even though there may be better policies in principle, because any government agency would probably be captured by interest groups.

The standard view of most international economists (aka the US)

1. The conventionally measured costs of deviating from free trade are large.
2. There are other benefits from free trade that add to the costs of protectionist policies.
3. Any attempt to pursue sophisticated deviations from free trade will be subverted by the political process.

What is the terms of trade argument for a tariff?

For a large country that is able to affect the prices of foreign exporters, a tariff lowers the price of imports and thus generates a terms of trade benefit. This benefit must be set against the costs of the tariff, which arise because the tariff distorts production and consumption incentives. However, in some cases, the benefits outweigh the costs.

What policy would the terms of trade argument dictate for export sectors?

A negative subsidy, that is, a tax on exports that raises the price of exports to foreigners. The optimum export tax is always positive but less than the prohibitive tax.

What are the limitations to the terms of trade argument?

-Most small countries have very little ability to affect the world prices of either their imports or exports, so of little importance.
-Large countries will face retaliation from other large countries.

What is the domestic failure argument against free trade?

Producer surplus might not properly measure the benefits of producing a good, because of domestic market failures, like the clearing of the labor market. For example, marginal social benefit may not be measured by producer surplus.

How convincing is the market failure argument?

1. Domestic market failures should be corrected by domestic policies aimed directly at the problem's sources.
2. Economists cannot diagnose market failure well enough to prescribe policy.

Definition of a problem of collective action

While it is in the interests of the group as a whole to press for favourable policies, it is not in any individual's interest to do so.

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