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Who determines Mexican trade policy?

Author

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  • Grether,Jean-Marie
  • De Melo,Jaime A. P.
  • Olarreaga,Marcelo

Abstract

Using a political economy approach, the authors analyze the pattern of protection in Mexico's manufacturing sector during the period of trade policy reforms (1985-89), when Mexico experienced significant trade liberalization and an important inflow of foreign direct investment. They take into account the potential effect of foreign direct investment on endogenous tariff formation. It turns out that the data support this analytic approach, in which the formulation of trade policy reflects political support, and in which the presence of foreign direct investment in the sector strongly affects the pattern of tariff protection before and after reform. In Mexican manufacturing, especially, sectors with heavy foreign direct investment received greater protection in import-competing sectors, although the move toward greater openness was associated with a reduction in the influence of industrial and foreign-investor lobbying.

Suggested Citation

  • Grether,Jean-Marie & De Melo,Jaime A. P. & Olarreaga,Marcelo, 1999. "Who determines Mexican trade policy?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2187, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2187
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    Cited by:

    1. Pravin Krishna & Devashish Mitra, 2016. "Reciprocated unilateralism in trade policy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Political Economy of Trade Policy Theory, Evidence and Applications, chapter 3, pages 37-63, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Paola Conconi & Carlo Perroni, 2012. "Conditional versus unconditional trade concessions for developing countries," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 613-631, May.
    3. Bin, Sheng, 2000. "The Political Economy of Trade Policy in China," Working Papers 10/2000, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Management, Politics & Philosophy.
    4. Ferdinand Eibl & Adeel Malik, 2016. "The Politics of Partial Liberalization: Cronyism and Non-Tariff Protection in Mubarak's Egypt," CSAE Working Paper Series 2016-27, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    5. Olarreaga, Marcelo, 1999. "Foreign-owned Capital and Endogenous Tariffs," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 14, pages 606-624.
    6. Mario Larch & Wolfgang Lechthaler, 2011. "Why `Buy American' is a bad idea but politicians still like it," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 44(3), pages 838-858, August.
    7. Yushi Yoshida & Hiro Ito, 2005. "Distance on FDI and Trade: The Roles of China and Mexico in the Pacific Basin," Discussion Papers 24, Kyushu Sangyo University, Faculty of Economics.
    8. Yasar, Mahmut, 2013. "Political Influence of Exporting and Import-Competing Firms: Evidence from Eastern European and Central Asian Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 154-168.
    9. Kozo Harimaya & Koichi Kagitani & Hirofumi Tominaga, 2010. "Political Economy Of Government Spending For Trade Liberalization: Politics Of Agriculture Related Government Spending For The Uruguay Round In Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 61(2), pages 159-174, June.
    10. Pravin Krishna & Devashish Mitra, 2003. "Reciprocated Unilateralism in Trade Policy: An Interest-Group Approach," NBER Working Papers 9631, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Changyuan Luo & Jun Zhang, 2010. "China Trade Policy Review: A Political Economy Approach," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(11), pages 1390-1413, November.
    12. Josh Ederington & Jenny Minier, 2008. "Reconsidering the empirical evidence on the Grossman-Helpman model of endogenous protection," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 41(2), pages 501-516, May.
    13. Chang Hong, 2013. "The political economy of tariff protection in China: evidence from the WTO accession," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(4), pages 1295-1316, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign Direct Investment; Free Trade; Payment Systems&Infrastructure; Trade Policy; Trade and Regional Integration; Environmental Economics&Policies; Economic Theory&Research; Banks&Banking Reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business

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