Books & ideas

British Protectionism Through the Ages

Ophélie Siméon — 2019-05-09T06:00:00Z

As Brexit looms, some predict that protectionism will once again haunt Britain. In this context, historian David Todd reassesses the significance of an ideology which has profoundly impacted British history from the Empire up to the present day, thus reflecting on the deep bonds between politics, economy and national identity.

Protectionism as Internationalist Liberalism

David Todd — 2012-01-17T12:09:12Z

Protectionism does not date from the 1930s; in fact it was invented in the nineteenth century by German, French and American theorists wary of British commercial power. The historian David Todd thinks that this genealogy – which is often ignored – reduces the taint of nationalism that can cling to the idea of protectionism.

Is Protectionism the Solution?

Florian Mayneris — 2012-01-17T12:08:02Z

Protectionism, a solution? Really? The economic crisis may not have turned the tide against liberalization, but we certainly cannot look at protectionism the same as we used to.

Protectionism and the Birth of Catalanism

Jeanne Moisand — 2011-09-16T07:00:00Z

Critics of Catalanism often reduce the movement to a reaction based on economic and fiscal selfishness. Jeanne Moisand shows how Catalanism originally identified itself with the defence of protectionism and the Spanish empire. It was only after the latter had been lost that the Catalan economic identity became opposed to the Spanish nation.

The Food Crisis Is Not Over Yet

Antoine Bouët & David Laborde Debucquet — 2010-05-27T09:48:20Z

Although agricultural protectionism is a major obstacle to development in some Southern countries, it cannot be blamed for the food crisis of 2007-2008. Growing trade liberalisation in the agricultural sector had an ambiguous effect: it facilitated the development of countries with a comparative advantage in the sector, but it also led to a rise in agricultural prices and therefore harmed developing countries that are net importers of food products.

Benefits and costs of free trade for less developed countries

Nina Pavcnik — 2009-11-05T10:49:00Z

Trade liberalization seems to have increased growth and income in developing countries over the past thirty years, through lower prices, firm-level efficiency gains and improved access to foreign inputs. However, aggregate gains from free trade are not necessarily equally distributed, so that trade liberalization has important costs for some people.

Antidumping protection hurts good firms

Hylke Vandenbussche — 2009-10-27T07:43:50Z

Antidumping measures have become an important form of commercial protection for countries, regulated by WTO. The effect of this kind of protection on firm-level productivity is highly heterogeneous. If it allows initially low-productivity domestic firms to restructure and increase their performance, it tends to hurt high-productivity domestic firms and exporters.