The need for careful research on trade policy is particularly acute, and
this volume empirically addresses these and many other important issues.
The contributors offer studies which integrate the institutional details
of current trade policy with creative economic analyses.
Marked by a shift from a traditional reliance on simulation models,
these papers take their inspiration from recent changes in the
assumptions traditionally underlying research in international trade
theory. No longer are government policies viewed as being somehow given
to the researcher; in part 1, Analyses with a Political Economy
Perspective, four papers treat such policies as endogenous and
explicable in terms of political economy. Neither are product and factor
markets seen as perfectly competitive; instead, the three papers in part
2, Trade Policy Effects under Imperfectly Competitive Market Conditions,
assume that firms consider the actions of other companies when
formulating their decisions. In part 3, A New Measure of Trade
Restrictiveness and Estimates of Trade Policy Effects with CGE Models,
the first essay explores the quantitative restrictions on cheese to
develop and implement a new model of restrictive trade. Two final
contributions address problems for which simulation modeling is
especially useful. The first considers the effectiveness of an import
surcharge in reducing the U.S. trade deficit and the second treats the
welfare effects of liberalization in South Korea where increasing
returns to scale are significant
These innovative studies focus on economic behavior that will provide
valuable insights for policymakers, academic economists, and students.