Reconciling Observed Tariffs and the Median Voter Model

Swati Dhingra

Economics and Politics, 2014, vol. 26, issue 3, 483-504

Abstract: type="main" xml:id="ecpo12045-abs-0001">

Median voter theory applied to trade policy predicts positive tariffs in capital-abundant countries and negative tariffs in labor-abundant countries. Negative tariffs are rare, and this paper reconciles the median voter theory with observed protectionism across countries. By considering large countries, I show the optimal tariff is a sum of the median voter component and a positive term of trade component. Positive terms of trade effects raise tariffs in all countries, and can overcome the negative median voter component in labor-abundant countries. Testing the tariff prediction with cross-section and panel data from the 1990s, I show the median voter component is negative in labor-abundant countries and positive in capital-abundant countries. As expected, terms of trade effects raise tariffs across all countries and are stronger among nonmembers of the WTO.

Date: 2014
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ecpo.2014.26.issue-3 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
Working Paper: Reconciling Observed Tariffs and the Median Voter Model (2014)
Working Paper: Reconciling observed tariffs and the median voter model (2014)
Working Paper: Reconciling observed tariffs and the median voter model (2014)
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:bla:ecopol:v:26:y:2014:i:3:p:483-504

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0954-1985

Access Statistics for this article

Economics and Politics is currently edited by Peter Rosendorff

More articles in Economics and Politics from Wiley Blackwell
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().