The textbook version of the international trade theory suggests that a tax should be preferred to a tariff in pursuing both economic and non-economic objectives. Only one exception is allowed: a tariff is required whenever the country is a monopolist in the product market. The rationale behind these prescriptions is that a tariff imposes an unnecessary reduction of the consumer's surplus. In this note we claim that his result is based on the assumptions relative to the cost functions in the partial equilibrium models and to factor intensity in the general equilibrium ones. If we introduce identical factor intensity in the latter and constant returns to scale in the partial equilibrium models, we end up preferring a tariff to a tax whenever the target is the expansion of the national industry
Natale, P. (1989). Non tutti i dazi vengono per nuocere. ECONOMIA POLITICA.
Non tutti i dazi vengono per nuocere
NATALE, PIERGIOVANNA
1989
Abstract
The textbook version of the international trade theory suggests that a tax should be preferred to a tariff in pursuing both economic and non-economic objectives. Only one exception is allowed: a tariff is required whenever the country is a monopolist in the product market. The rationale behind these prescriptions is that a tariff imposes an unnecessary reduction of the consumer's surplus. In this note we claim that his result is based on the assumptions relative to the cost functions in the partial equilibrium models and to factor intensity in the general equilibrium ones. If we introduce identical factor intensity in the latter and constant returns to scale in the partial equilibrium models, we end up preferring a tariff to a tax whenever the target is the expansion of the national industryI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.