Trade Reform Diagnostics with Many Households, Quotas, and Tariffs

Revenue-neutral trade reform is desirable if revenues are made up from less costly distortions. With a particular computable general-equilibrium model, reforms can be evaluated, but the robustness of conclusions is suspect; they depend on a particular specification and parameterization of the model economy. This paper provides a diagnostic toolkit which permits sensitivity analysis across model specifications and parameterizations, notably allowing for heterogeneous households. Novel elements include emphasis on the concept of compensated marginal cost of funds (MCF) necessary to sensitivity analysis, development of the MCF of quotas, and analysis of the relationship between aggregate MCF and social welfare