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Steepest Ascent Tariff Reforms

Author

Listed:
  • Woodland, Alan D.

    (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School)

  • Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis

    (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School)

Abstract

This paper introduces the concept of a steepest ascent tariff reform for a small open economy. By construction, it is locally optimal in that it yields the highest gain in utility of any feasible tariff reform vector of the same length. Accordingly, it provides a convenient benchmark for the evaluation of the welfare effectiveness of other well known tariff reform rules, as e.g. the proportional and the concertina rules. We develop the properties of this tariff reform, characterize the sources of the potential welfare gains from tariff reform, use it to establish conditions under which some existing reforms are locally optimal, provide geometric illustrations and compare welfare effectiveness of reforms using numerical examples. Moreover, being a general concept, we apply it to the issue of market access and examine its implications. Overall, the paper’s contribution lies in presenting a theoretical concept where the focus is upon the size of welfare gains accruing from tariff reforms rather than simply with the direction of welfare effects that has been the concern of the literature. JEL code: F15. Keywords: Steepest ascent tariff reforms; piecemeal tariff policy; welfare; market access; small open economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Woodland, Alan D. & Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis, 2006. "Steepest Ascent Tariff Reforms," Working Papers 04-2006, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:cbsnow:2006_004
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    Cited by:

    1. Henrik Barslund Fosse & Pascalis Raimondos‐Møller, 2012. "Reducing Tariffs According to WTO Accession Rules: The Case of Vietnam," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(2), pages 331-341, May.
    2. Kreickemeier, Udo & Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis, 2008. "Tari[ff]-tax reforms and market access," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 85-91, August.
    3. Heijdra, Ben J. & Ligthart, Jenny E., 2007. "Fiscal policy, monopolistic competition, and finite lives," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 325-359, January.
    4. Raimondos, Pascalis & Woodland, Alan, 2018. "Reciprocity in trade negotiations and welfare," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 134-142.
    5. Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis & Woodland, Alan D., 2015. "Market access and welfare: Is there a conflict?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 163-166.

    More about this item

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    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)

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