Market exchange is subject to an endogenously determined level of predation which impedes specialization and gains from trade. We construct a model in which utility-maximizing agents opt between careers in production and careers in predation. Three types of equilibria may emerge: autarky (with...

This paper rehabilitates effective protection. The usual definition of the effective rate of protection is the percentage change in value added per unit induced by the tariff structure. The problem is that in general equilibrium this measure corresponds to no economically interesting magnitude....

A simple general equilibrium model of an economy with distortionary taxes and public goods is used to extend, unify and clean up the welfare analysis of changes in taxation, redistribution and the provision of public goods. We clarify the distinction between compensation and money metric...

The trade restrictiveness index is the uniform trade tax factor which is equivalent in trade restrictiveness to the actual structure of domestic taxes subsidies. Its application to Mexican agricultural policy from 1985 to 1990 reveals an increase in restrictiveness. To return to the trade...

There is widespread concern about the effect of the Uruguay Round policy changes on world agricultural prices and consequently upon the welfare of developing countries. Assessing welfare changes with the standard terms of trade effect calculation can be misleading for distorted economies, since...

The theory of trade reform typically is based on a passive government budget constraint, in which changes in tariff revenue are costlessly offset by lump sum transfers. This paper offers a general framework for trade reform when the government budget constraint is active, such that tariff...

Tariff indexes such as trade weighted means, variances and coefficients of variation are commonly used to compare the overall restrictiveness of trade policy over time and across countries despite their lack of theoretical foundation. Anderson and Neary (1991) define a welfare-consistent tariff...

This paper is a guide to welfare cost measurement with all the basic elements of fiscal policy active in a representative consumer economy. By developing a simple dual framework which nevertheless is more general than the special cases usually employed, we are able to clear up several confusions...