Essays on the theories of international trade and economic growth.

摘要

In chapter 1, we note that anti-dumping laws can affect even those markets where, under free trade, there are no imports. These laws weaken potential foreign competitors, who must now meet the anti-dumping standards, ultimately leading to higher prices in the policy-active country even in markets where there was no trade under free trade. Under certain circumstances, anti-dumping laws may facilitate the increase in the expected levels of imports in certain industries, further disguising the protectionist effects of those laws.;Trade in used consumer durables, cars in particular, faces unusually steep barriers. In chapter 2, we develop a two-country general equilibrium model with trade in new and used cars, and a non-traded repairs sector. Under factor-price equalization, trade is driven by differences in per capita income and factor proportions, and there is a negative correlation between net imports of used and new cars. The terms-of-trade effects of tariffs on imports of used and new cars depend on the level and distribution of income in both countries. Tariffs on used cars do not distort production decisions nor destroy factor price equalization; but they may have negative terms-of-trade effects even if a country is a large importer of used cars.;Throughout the world, the popularity of programs to protect those who may fall into poverty stands in contrast with the weakness of policies aimed at helping those who are already poor. In chapter 3, we use an overlapping-generations model with persistent poverty and limited social mobility to explore the reasons for the different success rates of selected social policies, and their effects on economic growth. The reluctance of societies to support policies to reduce long-term poverty may be explained by the redistributive bias of those policies, especially in the short term. However, the failure to attack long-term poverty can slow down long-run growth.