1,721,039 research outputs found
Pareto gains from trade
No full textIn this paper we review the literature on Pareto gains from trade. We start by discussing the distributional implications of trade which arise in the general heterogeneous agents case. We present the proof of Pareto gains from trade using lumpsum redistribution, followed by the same result with commodity taxation. Newer results involving non-linear taxation, in particular the special case of a duty free zone, are also discussed. Finally, we address the distributional effects of trade in the presence of increasing returns to scale and love of variet
Welfare leakage and immigration policy
No full textThis paper analyzes the interaction between the welfare state and immigration policy. We establish a negative relationship between the number of dependents and the extent of the welfare state due to the leakage of benefits. We also explain the determination of immigration policy as the outcome of a lobbying game between domestic interest groups and the government. Our results indicate that there is evidence for welfare leakage and for lobbying as a determinant of immigration policy. In our baseline specification, a 10 percentage points increase in the share of dependents leads to a 7–10 percentage point decrease in the labor tax rate. Furthermore, an increase by 10 percentage points in union density leads to a decrease of one percentage point in the share of immigrants in the population. In the context of EU enlargement and the ensuing migration flows, our model predicts a reduction in the size of the welfare state in the old member countries. (JEL H5, J1, J61
Protecton for sale with imperfect rent capturing
No full textexplain tariffs as the outcome of a lobbying process. In most empirical implementations of this framework protection is instead measured using non-tariff barriers. Since tariffs allow the government to fully capture the rents from protection, while non-tariff barriers do not, the existing parameter estimates of the protection for sale model are likely to be biased. To address this problem, we augment the framework by considering instruments that allow partial capturing. Our specification is supported by the data, where we find that only 72-75% of the rent from protection is appropriated by the governmen
The political economy of international factor mobility
Full text linkWe model the endogenous determination of policy towards international factor mobility. In a
common agency setting, domestic interest groups bid for protection from the government and the
incumbent politicians maximize a welfare function that depends both on domestic voters’ welfare
and contributions collected. We characterize equilibrium policies in the price space and show how the degree of complementarity among inputs determines the outcome. We establish a similar result for quotas, allowing for partial rent capturing. For the strategic environment under consideration, we also establish a general equivalence result between tariffs and quotas if capturing is complete
The gains from duty free zones
Full text linkDuty free zones have been established in many countries and duty free shops can be found in every major international airport. This paper investigates their welfare effect, in the tradition of the Pareto gains from trade literature. Using the dual approach developed in Dixit and Norman (1980), we show that the introduction of a duty free zone leads to Pareto gains over autarky. Compared to free trade, its welfare impact depends on the redistribution mechanism accompanying free trade. We show that with a Dixit–Norman tax scheme free trade is Pareto-inferior to a duty free zone regime. The opposite holds true for lump sum redistributio
The customs union issue : why do we observe so few of them?
No full textThe number of preferential trade agreements has greatly increased over the past two decades, yet most existing arrangements take the form of free trade areas, and less than 10% can be considered to be fully fledged customs unions. This paper develops a political economy model of trade policy under imperfect competition to provide a positive explanation for the prevalence of free trade areas. In a three‐country setting, a representative from each prospective member is elected to determine the tariffs to be applied on imported goods. Under a customs union, the necessity to coordinate tariffs leads voters to strategically delegate power to more protectionist representatives. We show that strategic delegation may imply that free trade areas increase the prospective member countries' welfare compared to customs unions. Moreover, the model also indicates conditions under which free trade areas are more likely to be politically viable than customs unions
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Substitutability and Protectionism: Latin America's Trade Policy and Imports from China and India
Full text linkThis article examines the trade policy response of Latin American governments to the rapid growth of Chinese and Indian exports in world markets. To explain more protection in sectors where a large share of imports originates in China and India, the "protection for sale" model is extended to allow for region-specific degrees of substitutability between domestic and imported varieties of a good. The results suggest that more protection toward Chinese and Indian goods can be explained by the higher substitutability of Chinese and Indian goods with domestic varieties. The data support the model, which performs better than the original protection for sale framework in explaining Latin America's structure of protection. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / the world bank . All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected]., Oxford University Press.
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