The Mercantilist Index of Trade Policy

36 Pages Posted: 31 Dec 1998 Last revised: 10 Oct 2022

See all articles by James E. Anderson

James E. Anderson

Boston College - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

J. Peter Neary

University of Oxford - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Date Written: January 1999

Abstract

This paper develops and characterizes an index of trade policy restrictiveness defined as the uniform tariff equivalent which maintains the same volume of trade as a given set of tariffs, quota, and domestic taxes and subsidies. We relate this volume-equivalent index to the Trade Restrictiveness Index welfare-equivalent measure changes in the generalised mean and variance of the tariff schedule. Applications to international cross-section and time-series comparisons of trade policy show that the new index frequently gives a very different picture than do standard indexes.

Suggested Citation

Anderson, James E. and Neary, J. Peter, The Mercantilist Index of Trade Policy (January 1999). NBER Working Paper No. w6870, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=142813

James E. Anderson

Boston College - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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J. Peter Neary (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Department of Economics ( email )

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Oxford, OX1 3BJ
United Kingdom

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

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