Democracy, Institutions, Firms and Trade

Serene Ho, Christine Liu, Jingtian Chen and In Song Kim

CES Technical Notes Series from Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau

Abstract: This project examines how political institutions and firm characteristics jointly shape the import tariffs applied to goods entering the United States. Using Longitudinal Firm Trade Transaction Database (LFTTD) linked to WTO tariff schedules and Policy IV measures of importing-country democracy, we study whether multinational corporations (MNCs) systematically import from less-democratic countries, and whether they face systematically different tariff rates compared with other U.S. importers as a result. The findings of this project demonstrate how firm-level heterogeneity and political institutions jointly determine the structure of trade protection at the border.

Keywords: LFTTD; LBD; CMF (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07
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