Economic Gains from Agricultural Trade: A Review and Bibliography

This report reviews recent theoretical and empirical developments in research on the economic gains from international trade, particularly agricultural trade. According to traditional theory, a marketing situation where no tariffs or other barriers are imposed on international trade (free trade) is always superior to a policy of national self-sufficiency and nonreliance on imports or economic aid (autarky). However, recent literature indicates that these traditional arguments are easily violated under a variety of circumstances. This report analyzes general- and partial-equilibrium trade models that illustrate these circumstances; research on the effects of government intervention on trade gains in U.S. agriculture; and developments in trade model specification, estimation methods, and construction.