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Domestic distortions and international trade

1992-12-15, Anderson, James E., Neary, J. Peter

In this paper, we investigate techniques for measuring the trade policy equivalent of domestic distortions, using a distance function approach. Our measure, the Trade Restrictiveness Index, is shown to equal the uniform tariff which is welfare-equivalent to a given pattern of domestic taxes and subsidies. We extend the Index to incorporate taxes in markets for non-traded goods and factors of production and illustrates its operationality with an application to liberalisation in Mexican agriculture. We conclude that our Index has considerable potential in empirical work and as an aid to trade negotiations.

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Publication

The mercantilist index of trade policy

2001-07-11, Anderson, James E., Neary, J. Peter

We introduce an index of trade policy restrictiveness defined as the uniform tariff which maintains the same trade volume as a given tariff/quota structure. Our index overcomes the problems of the trade-weighted average tariff: it avoids substitution bias, correctly accounts for general equilibrium transfers, and takes import volume rather than welfare as benchmark. Empirical applications to international cross-section and time-series comparisons of trade policy confirm our theoretical results: trade-weighted average tariffs generally underestimate the true height of tariffs as measured by the trade-volume-equivalent index; this in turn always underestimates the welfare-equivalent index.