2024-03-28T07:58:01
115282
Thu Mar 28 07:58:09 EDT 2024
Data and Code for: "Why Special Economic Zones? Using Trade Policy to Discriminate Across Importers"
Matthew Grant
115282
https://doi.org/10.3886/E115282V1
Tariffs are generally assumed to depend on the product, not the identity of the importer. However, special economic zones are a common, economically important policy used worldwide to lower tariffs on selected goods for selected manufacturers. I show this is motivated by policymakers' desire to discriminate across buyers when a tax is intended to raise prices for sellers, through a mechanism distinct from existing theories of optimal taxation. Using a new dataset compiled from public records and exogenous changes in imports of intermediate goods, I find the form, composition, and size of U.S. zones are consistent with the theory.
F10 Trade: General
F13 Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
F14 Empirical Studies of Trade