We consider optimal trade policy for a large country with private information. We show that the optimal tariff leads to a signaling equilibrium with higher tariffs and lower welfare than under complete information, whereas the optimal import quota replicates the complete information equilibrium...

This paper revisits Bairoch’s hypothesis that in the late 19th century tariffs were positively associated with growth, as recently confirmed by a new generation of quantitative studies (see O`Rourke (2000), Jacks (2006) and Clemens-Williamson (2002, 2004)). This paper highlights the importance...

The empirical relationship between trade protection and economic growth is surprisinglyfragile, as shown in a number of other papers. After demonstrating this empiricalsensitivity, we address one possible explanation for these findings: that the relationshipis nonlinear. Following the endogenous...