Gene Grossman (Princeton University) joins Soumaya Keynes and Chad Bown to chat about decades of research on what determines tariffs in the real world. They discuss the role that voters, politicians, lobbyists, and campaign contributions play in setting out the supply of and demand for trade protection. They also describe what political economists may have gotten wrong, as well as the role that identity politics may have played in shaping the recent trade backlash and election of Donald Trump.
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- Gene M. Grossman and Elhanan Helpman. 2018. Identity Politics and Trade Policy. NBER Working Paper No. 25348, December.
- Gene M. Grossman and Elhanan Helpman. 1994. Protection for Sale. American Economic Review.
- Wolfgang Mayer. 1984. Endogenous Tariff Formation. American Economic Review.