The Limits of Protectionism

by Lusztig, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780822958437
• ISBN10: 0822958430
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-07-01
• Publisher: Univ of Pittsburgh Pr

Summary

Free trade is politically dangerous. While most economists agree that it stimulates growth, governments fear that the producers who rely on trade protection can create devastating political backlash for administrations that promote global trade. In The Limits of Protectionism, Michael Lusztig describes exactly how governments can navigate the narrow path between economic success and political failure through the artful construction of free-trade coalitions. Illustrating his model with a wide range of case studies -- from nineteenth-century Britain to Depression-era United States to contemporary New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, and Mexico -- Lusztig reveals the successes, failures, and implications of a variety of trade strategies. He skillfully shows how protectionists can be pushed to restructure their businesses to compete in a global economy and can even become active advocates for the free-market opportunities they had once denounced. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Michael Lusztig is associate professor of political science at Southern Methodist University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
List of Acronyms	xiii
1. The Limits of Rent Seeking: A Prescriptive Model	1	(25)
2. Britain and the Golden Age of Free Trade	26	(26)
3. Pressure Groups and the Basis of American Hegemony	52	(26)
4. Mexico and the Social Foundations of NAFTA	78	(25)
5. From Protection to Free Trade in Canada	103	(23)
6. New Zealand: Social Democrats, Free Markets	126	(24)
7. Australia and the Triumph of the Rent Seekers	150	(26)
8. Brazil and Chile: Divergent Directions in the Southern Cone	176	(30)
9. Lessons: Economic Gain without Political Pain?	206	(11)
Notes	217	(18)
References	235	(30)
Index	265