Essays on endogenous trade policies

Abstract

The study of trade policy has a long history within economic thought and has been continuously reworked ever since mercantilist advocates in the sixteenth century claimed that a country benefited more, the larger its trade surplus. Though this means that different economic arguments are put forward in today's discussions on trade policy, these issues continue to play a key role in international public relations. From this perspective, it is vital to identify economic rationales for the use of trade protection. On the other hand, when considering the substantial reductions in protection levels that have been obtained through multilateral trade negotiation rounds since the end of the 1940s, a related issue that is of at least as large interest is that of explaining strategic trade-policy interactions between countries. In a broad context, this dissertation deals with the determination of bilateral protection levels and incorporates both of these questions.