TY  - JOUR
AU  - Fung,K.C.
AU  - Staiger,Robert W.
TI  - Trade Liberalization and Trade Adjustment Assistance
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 4847
PY  - 1994
Y2  - September 1994
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4847
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4847.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
K.C. Fung
Department of Economics, UC, Santa Cruz
217 Social Sciences 1
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
E-Mail: kcfung@ucsc.edu

Robert W. Staiger
Department of Economics
Stanford University
Landau Economics Building
579 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA  94305-6072
Tel: 650/723-0533
Fax: 650/725-5702
E-Mail: rstaiger@stanford.edu
AB  - We explore the relationship between trade adjustment subsidies and successful reciprocal trade liberalization.  We consider economies that are faced with a periodic need to move resources out of a declining import-competing sector, and that are attempting to sustain cooperative but self-enforcing trade agreements in the face of these adjustment needs.  If the limitations associated with enforcement of international trade agreements are sufficiently severe, trade adjustment assistance can facilitate reciprocal trade liberalization. We argue that this suggests a possible efficiency rationale for adjustment policies that treat resources differently when traded sectors are involved.
ER  -