Should We Tax Trade? A Pigouvian Perspective

Arnaud Costinot and Iván Werning

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2026, vol. 40, issue 3, 101-22

Abstract: We develop a simple and intuitive Pigouvian perspective on optimal trade policy. Our approach unifies a wide range of rationales for taxing trade, from the classical optimal tariff argument to contemporary debates about global carbon emissions and geopolitics. We also clarify when trade policy intervention is warranted and when alternative domestic instruments should be used instead.

JEL-codes: D72 F11 F13 F18 H23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/jep.20251491 (application/pdf)
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles/materials/25835 (application/zip)
Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.

Related works:
Working Paper: Should We Tax Trade? A Pigouvian Perspective (2026)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aea:jecper:v:40:y:2026:i:3:p:101-22

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/subscriptions

DOI: 10.1257/jep.20251491

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Economic Perspectives is currently edited by Enrico Moretti

More articles in Journal of Economic Perspectives from American Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Michael P. Albert ().