Why are Some People (and Countries) More Protectionist than Others?

56 Pages Posted: 1 Oct 2001

See all articles by Anna Maria Mayda

Anna Maria Mayda

Harvard University - Department of Economics

Dani Rodrik

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: September 2001

Abstract

We analyse a rich cross-country data set that contains information on attitudes toward trade as well as a broad range of socio-demographic, and other, indicators. We find that pro-trade preferences are significantly and robustly correlated with an individual's level of human capital, in the manner predicted by the factor endowments model. Preferences over trade are also correlated with the trade exposure of the sector in which an individual is employed: individuals in non-traded sectors tend to be the most pro-trade, while individuals in sectors with a revealed comparative disadvantage are the most protectionist. Third, an individual's relative economic status, measured in terms of either relative income within each country or self-expressed social status, has a very strong positive association with pro-trade attitudes. Finally, non-economic determinants, in the form of values, identities, and attachments, play an important role in explaining the variation in preferences over trade. High degrees of neighborhood attachment and nationalism/patriotism are associated with protectionist tendencies, while cosmopolitanism is correlated with pro-trade attitudes. Our framework does a reasonable job of explaining differences across individuals and a fairly good job of explaining differences across countries.

Keywords: Trade preferences, protectionism, surveys

JEL Classification: F10

Suggested Citation

Mayda, Anna Maria and Rodrik, Dani, Why are Some People (and Countries) More Protectionist than Others? (September 2001). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=283881

Anna Maria Mayda (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Department of Economics ( email )

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Dani Rodrik

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/rodrik/

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