Micro-foundations of individual preferences for protectionism in Canada and Uruguay

Natalia Melgar
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Natalia Melgar: Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República

No 1707, Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) from Department of Economics - dECON

Abstract: Even when the majority of economists agree on the benefits of free trade, everywhere we turn to,trade is restricted. In contexts where politicians offer different policy options and voters demand them based on their individual preferences, one may ask what determines personal preferences on trade policy; which economic, cultural, social elements shape them. The goal of this paper is to answer these questions in the case of two different economies: Canada and Uruguay. The data source is the module on National Identity (2003) which was carried out in accordance with the International Social Survey Program. Based on probit models, the main conclusion of this paper is that the evidence does not support the conclusions on preference formation of the Hecksher-Ohlin trade model, while elements such as religion, political preferences, and nationalism, as well as demographic characteristics, have a significant impact on trade policy preferences.

Keywords: Preferences; micro-foundations; protectionism; rationality; ISSP (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 F13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-pol
Date: 2007-11
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