On Tariff Preferences and Delegation Decisions in Customs Unions: A Heckscher-Ohlin Approach.

This paper studies preferences of customs union (CU) members over common external tariff (CET) levels and extends the literature on delegation decisions over trade policy in models with production. In a model with similar CU members, we prove that most-preferred CETs can be ranked with the help of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Economic Journal Vol. 112; pp. 625 - 649
Autor principal: Syropoulos, Constantinos
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell July 2002
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:This paper studies preferences of customs union (CU) members over common external tariff (CET) levels and extends the literature on delegation decisions over trade policy in models with production. In a model with similar CU members, we prove that most-preferred CETs can be ranked with the help of compensated price elasticities of import demand functions. In the Heckscher–Ohlin trade model, we show these elasticities depend on inter-country differences in relative factor endowments and inter-sectoral differences in technology. This helps identify the optimal policy maker in a CU and demonstrates delegation decisions over trade policy can be integrated into mainstream trade theory. Reproduced by permission of the publisher.