Vanguards of globalization: Organization and political action among America's pro-trade firms

Iain Osgood

Business and Politics, 2021, vol. 23, issue 1, 1-35

Abstract: This paper identifies recurrent patterns in the political activity of American corporations that support trade. These firms have made public coalitions a central element of their pro-trade activities, and their collective efforts vastly outstrip those of trade's corporate opponents. This superiority in organization is paired with dramatically greater volumes of lobbying and campaign contributions. I explain these striking divergences by integrating collective action theory into a firm-centred model of trade politics: the heavy concentration of gains from trade among a small number of firms makes both individual and collective political action easier for pro-trade firms than for producers opposed to trade. This explanation is supported in panel analysis of firms’ participation in pro-trade coalitions, which shows that size, multinationality, and heterogeneity in global networks of production and sales drive participation in pro-trade groups. Globally engaged firms have supported trade by matching pro-trade preferences with highly organized political action.

Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:buspol:v:23:y:2021:i:1:p:1-35_1

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