IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ecopol/v31y2019i1p1-26.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exports, jobs, growth! Congressional hearings on US trade agreements

Author

Listed:
  • Jieun Lee
  • Iain Osgood

Abstract

Who testifies on US trade agreements before Congress and what do they say? We examine the content of Congressional testimony on US trade agreements, and the selection process which determines who testifies in the first place. We find that testimony is systematically tilted toward a sunny view of trade's positive economic effects, while import competition and offshoring are generally downplayed. We argue that trade's supporters strategically frame their motives for supporting trade agreements, and that pro‐trade committee chairs’ decisions on who testifies further skew testimony away from the distributive consequences of globalization within the United States. Congressional hearings on trade agreements therefore represent a key site where the influence of dominant pro‐trade interests is both revealed and reinforced.

Suggested Citation

  • Jieun Lee & Iain Osgood, 2019. "Exports, jobs, growth! Congressional hearings on US trade agreements," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 1-26, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecopol:v:31:y:2019:i:1:p:1-26
    DOI: 10.1111/ecpo.12121
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecpo.12121
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ecpo.12121?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2016. "The China Shock: Learning from Labor-Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 205-240, October.
    2. Edward D. Mansfield & Helen V. Milner & B. Peter Rosendorff, 2015. "Why Democracies Cooperate More: Electoral Control and International Trade Agreements," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Edward D Mansfield (ed.), THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE, chapter 11, pages 227-263, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Baccini, Leonardo & Pinto, Pablo M. & Weymouth, Stephen, 2017. "The Distributional Consequences of Preferential Trade Liberalization: Firm-Level Evidence," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(2), pages 373-395, April.
    4. Lisa Lechner, 2016. "The domestic battle over the design of non-trade issues in preferential trade agreements," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(5), pages 840-871, September.
    5. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2013. "The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2121-2168, October.
    6. Jensen, J. Bradford & Quinn, Dennis P. & Weymouth, Stephen, 2015. "The Influence of Firm Global Supply Chains and Foreign Currency Undervaluations on US Trade Disputes," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 69(4), pages 913-947, October.
    7. Iain Osgood, 2016. "Differentiated Products, Divided Industries: Firm Preferences over Trade Liberalization," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 161-180, July.
    8. Emily Blanchard & Xenia Matschke, 2015. "U.S. Multinationals and Preferential Market Access," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(4), pages 839-854, October.
    9. Krehbiel, Keith, 1990. "Are Congressional Committees Composed of Preference Outliers?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 84(1), pages 149-163, March.
    10. By Kishore Gawande & Pravin Krishna & Marcelo Olarreaga, 2012. "Lobbying Competition Over Trade Policy," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 53(1), pages 115-132, February.
    11. Bombardini, Matilde & Trebbi, Francesco, 2012. "Competition and political organization: Together or alone in lobbying for trade policy?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 18-26.
    12. Margalit, Yotam, 2011. "Costly Jobs: Trade-related Layoffs, Government Compensation, and Voting in U.S. Elections," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 105(1), pages 166-188, February.
    13. Ram C. Acharya, 2015. "Trade Policy in Lobbying Equilibrium: With Non-Traded and Traded Final Goods and Intermediate Inputs," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 313-336, July.
    14. Mary Anne Madeira, 2016. "New trade, new politics: intra-industry trade and domestic political coalitions," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(4), pages 677-711, July.
    15. Johns, Leslie & Wellhausen, Rachel L., 2016. "Under One Roof: Supply Chains and the Protection of Foreign Investment," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(1), pages 31-51, February.
    16. Justin R. Pierce & Peter K. Schott, 2016. "The Surprisingly Swift Decline of US Manufacturing Employment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(7), pages 1632-1662, July.
    17. Huitt, Ralph K., 1954. "The Congressional Committee: A Case Study," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(2), pages 340-365, June.
    18. Gilligan, Thomas W & Krehbiel, Keith, 1987. "Collective Decisionmaking and Standing Committees: An Informational Rationale for Restrictive Amendment Procedures," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 287-335, Fall.
    19. Andy Baker, 2005. "Who Wants to Globalize? Consumer Tastes and Labor Markets in a Theory of Trade Policy Beliefs," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(4), pages 924-938, October.
    20. Goldstein, Judith, 1988. "Ideas, institutions, and American trade policy," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(1), pages 179-217, January.
    21. Baccini, Leonardo & Dür, Andreas, 2012. "The new regionalism and policy interdependence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 43056, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    22. Shepsle, Kenneth A. & Weingast, Barry R., 1987. "The Institutional Foundations of Committee Power," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(1), pages 85-104, March.
    23. Kenneth F. Scheve & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2001. "Labor Market Competition And Individual Preferences Over Immigration Policy," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(1), pages 133-145, February.
    24. Mansfield, Edward D. & Mutz, Diana C., 2009. "Support for Free Trade: Self-Interest, Sociotropic Politics, and Out-Group Anxiety," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 63(3), pages 425-457, July.
    25. Martin, Andrew D. & Quinn, Kevin M. & Park, Jong Hee, 2011. "MCMCpack: Markov Chain Monte Carlo in R," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 42(i09).
    26. Jensen, J. Bradford & Quinn, Dennis P. & Weymouth, Stephen, 2017. "Winners and Losers in International Trade: The Effects on US Presidential Voting," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(3), pages 423-457, July.
    27. Manger,Mark S., 2009. "Investing in Protection," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521748704.
    28. Hafner-Burton, Emilie M., 2005. "Trading Human Rights: How Preferential Trade Agreements Influence Government Repression," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(3), pages 593-629, July.
    29. Milner, Helen, 1987. "Resisting the protectionist temptation: industry and the making of trade policy in France and the United States during the 1970s," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(4), pages 639-665, October.
    30. Osgood, Iain, 2018. "Globalizing the Supply Chain: Firm and Industrial Support for US Trade Agreements," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(2), pages 455-484, April.
    31. Gowa, Joanne & Mansfield, Edward D., 1993. "Power Politics and International Trade," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 87(2), pages 408-420, June.
    32. Iain Osgood & Yilang Feng, 2018. "Intellectual property provisions and support for US trade agreements," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 421-455, September.
    33. Mansfield, Edward D. & Bronson, Rachel, 1997. "Alliances, Preferential Trading Arrangements, and International Trade," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 91(1), pages 94-107, March.
    34. Owen, Erica & Johnston, Noel P., 2017. "Occupation and the Political Economy of Trade: Job Routineness, Offshorability, and Protectionist Sentiment," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(4), pages 665-699, October.
    35. Manger,Mark S., 2009. "Investing in Protection," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521765046.
    36. Baccini, Leonardo & Dür, Andreas, 2012. "The New Regionalism and Policy Interdependence," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(1), pages 57-79, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hye Young You, 2023. "Dynamic lobbying: Evidence from foreign lobbying in the U.S. Congress," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 445-469, July.
    2. John Kuk & Deborah Seligsohn & Jiakun Jack Zhang, 2022. "The partisan divide in U.S. congressional communications after the China shock," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 494-526, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jieun Lee & Iain Osgood, 2018. "Exports, Jobs, Growth! Congressional Hearings on US Trade Agreements," Working Papers 667, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan.
    2. Leonardo Baccini & Iain Osgood & Stephen Weymouth, 2019. "The service economy: U.S. trade coalitions in an era of deindustrialization," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 261-296, June.
    3. Ka Zeng & Karen Sebold & Yue Lu, 2020. "Global value chains and corporate lobbying for trade liberalization," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 409-443, April.
    4. Iain Osgood & Yilang Feng, 2018. "Intellectual property provisions and support for US trade agreements," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 421-455, September.
    5. Ryan M. Weldzius, 2021. "The end of currency manipulation? Global production networks and exchange rate outcomes," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 514-532, November.
    6. Andreas Dür & Leonardo Baccini & Manfred Elsig, 2014. "The design of international trade agreements: Introducing a new dataset," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 353-375, September.
    7. Harms, Philipp & Steiner, Nils, 2019. "The China Shock and the Nationalist Backlash against Globalization: Attitudinal Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203506, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou, 2022. "The Political Economy of Populism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 753-832, September.
    9. Soo Yeon Kim & Gabriele Spilker, 2019. "Global value chains and the political economy of WTO disputes," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 239-260, June.
    10. Aydin B. Yildirim & J. Tyson Chatagnier & Arlo Poletti & Dirk De Bièvre, 2018. "The internationalization of production and the politics of compliance in WTO disputes," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 49-75, March.
    11. Cevat G. Aksoy & Sergei Guriev & Daniel S. Treisman, 2018. "Globalization, Government Popularity, and the Great Skill Divide," NBER Working Papers 25062, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Soo Yeon Kim, 2021. "Investment commitments in PTAs and MNCS in partner countries," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 415-442, November.
    13. David Autor & David Dorn & Gordon Hanson & Kaveh Majlesi, 2020. "Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(10), pages 3139-3183, October.
    14. John Kuk & Deborah Seligsohn & Jiakun Jack Zhang, 2022. "The partisan divide in U.S. congressional communications after the China shock," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 494-526, July.
    15. Dirk De Bièvre & Arlo Poletti, 2020. "Towards Explaining Varying Degrees of Politicization of EU Trade Agreement Negotiations," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(1), pages 243-253.
    16. Ari Van Assche & Byron Gangnes, . "Global value chains and the fragmentation of trade policy coalitions," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    17. Che, Yi & Lu, Yi & Pierce, Justin R. & Schott, Peter K. & Tao, Zhigang, 2022. "Did trade liberalization with China influence US elections?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    18. Kondo, Illenin O., 2018. "Trade-induced displacements and local labor market adjustments in the U.S," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 180-202.
    19. Yann Algan & Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou & Evgenia Passari, 2017. "The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(2 (Fall)), pages 309-400.
    20. Colantone, Italo & Ottaviano, Gianmarco & Stanig, Piero, 2021. "The backlash of globalization," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113860, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ecopol:v:31:y:2019:i:1:p:1-26. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0954-1985 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.