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Optimum Tariffs and Retaliation: How Country Numbers Matter

Author

Listed:
  • Francis Bloch

    (GREQAM and Ecole Superieure de Mecanique de Marseille)

  • Ben Zissimos

    () (Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University)

Abstract

This paper presents a North-South model of international trade in which (i) there is a relatively small number of countries in the North and (ii) the North is relatively abundant in capital while the South is relatively abundant in labor. Using new methods in monotone comparative statics, the effect of changes in country numbers on the outcome of a "tariff war" is studied. It is shown that terms-of-trade and welfare in the North are greater the larger the number of countries in the South and vice versa. The paper also studies the relationship between the number of countries in the world market and its performance in terms of efficiency. It is shown that, as the world economy is replicated, the equilibrium in a tariff war converges monotonically towards the competitive equilibrium of free trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Francis Bloch & Ben Zissimos, 2008. "Optimum Tariffs and Retaliation: How Country Numbers Matter," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 0802, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:van:wpaper:0802
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yoshitomo Ogawa, 2012. "The structure of Nash equilibrium tariffs," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 51(1), pages 139-161, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Comparative statics; efficiency; North-South; tariff war; terms of trade;

    JEL classification:

    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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