Stretching the Inelastic Rubber: Taxation, Welfare and Lobbies in Amazonia, 1870-1910

This paper examines the effect of government intervention via taxation on domestic welfare. A case-study of Brazilian market power on rubber markets during the boom years of 1870-1910 shows that the government generated 1.3% of GDP through an export tax on rubber but that it could have generated 4.7% in total, had the government set the tariff at the optimal level. National, regional and local constraints prevented the government from maximizing regional welfare. In a context of lobbies, government budget maximization may have differed from regional welfare maximization.Rubber, Commodities, Market Power, Optimal Tariff, Welfare, Trade and Brazil.

How much trade liberalization was there in the world before and after Cobden-Chevalier?

The Cobden-Chevalier Treaty of 1860 is regarded as central turning point in nineteenth-century trade policy, inaugurating a free trade era in Western Europe. We reexamine this story and put it into global perspective with a new database covering more than 7,500 data points for 11categories of manufactures in 41 countries and colonies around the world between 1846 and 1880. It reveals that bilateralism after 1860 reinforced a process already underway before. Nevertheless, we highlight is that trade liberalization was a global phenomenon over most of our period, so that the prominent British case appears as typical rather than exceptional.International trade, World commercial policy, World tariff history, Protectionism, Liberalization, Cobden-Chevalier

How much trade liberalization was there in the world before and after Cobden-Chevalier?

Se retira por petición de la coordinadora de la serie (mensaje 27-02-2012)The Cobden-Chevalier Treaty of 1860 is regarded as central turning point in nineteenth-century trade policy, inaugurating a free trade era in Western Europe. We reexamine this story and put it into global perspective with a new database covering more than 7,500 data points for 11categories of manufactures in 41 countries and colonies around the world between 1846 and 1880. It reveals that bilateralism after 1860 reinforced a process already underway before. Nevertheless, we highlight is that trade liberalization was a global phenomenon over most of our period, so that the prominent British case appears as typical rather than exceptional

How Much Trade Liberalization Was There in the World Before and After Cobden-Chevalier?

The Cobden-Chevalier Treaty of 1860 is regarded as central turning point in nineteenth-century trade policy, inaugurating a free trade era in Western Europe. We reexamine this story and put it into global perspective with a new database covering more than 7,500 data points for 11 categories of manufactures in 41 countries and colonies around the world between 1846 and 1880. It reveals that bilateralism after 1860 reinforced a process already underway before. Nevertheless, we highlight that trade liberalization was a global phenomenon over most of our period, so that the prominent British case appears as typical rather than exceptiona