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Trade Openness and Preferences for Redistribution: A Cross-National Assessment of the Compensation Hypothesis

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  • Balcells Ventura Laia

    (Yale University)

Abstract

Compensation hypothesis, which has established a link between trade openness of countries and levels of government spending, has been widely accepted in the literature on trade policy and international globalization. However, the nature of the distribution effects produced by trade is likely to determine the existence of more or less redistribution demands from the median voter, and therefore government growth. In this paper I hypothesize that the effects of trade openness on redistribution demands are not homogeneous between countries, and I argue that they depend both on the type-of-factor endowment of the economy and the size of the sectors more likely to be affected by trade. I test this hypothesis with ISSP data for 23 countries, both with a country level and an individual level analysis. The results show that redistribution demands issued from trade openness of the median voter of a country are largely conditional on GDP per capita and size of potential loser sectors such as manufacturing: while trade has a negative effect on pro-redistribution preferences in "poor" and/or in "low manufacturing" countries; it positively affects pro-redistribution preferences in "rich" and/or in "high manufacturing" countries. Additionally, I empirically observe that the size of the loser sector plays a more important mediating role than the type-of-factor endowment of the economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Balcells Ventura Laia, 2006. "Trade Openness and Preferences for Redistribution: A Cross-National Assessment of the Compensation Hypothesis," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 8(2), pages 1-52, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:bpj:buspol:v:8:y:2006:i:2:n:1
    DOI: 10.2202/1469-3569.1131
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    Cited by:

    1. Peter Zweifel & Ilja Neustadt, 2013. "Why Does Income Redistribution Differ Between Countries? Comparative Evidence From Germany and Switzerland," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 11(03), pages 39-47, October.
    2. Edo, Anthony & Giesing, Yvonne & Öztunc, Jonathan & Poutvaara, Panu, 2019. "Immigration and electoral support for the far-left and the far-right," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 99-143.
    3. Rashidul Islam Sheikh, 2019. "Analysis of the Determinants of Public Education Expenditures in Bangladesh," Journal of Public Administration and Governance, Macrothink Institute, vol. 9(3), pages 151-178, December.
    4. Sarah Hakeem & Saghir Pervaiz Ghauri & Rizwan Raheem Ahmed & Dalia Streimikiene & Justas Streimikis, 2023. "Development of Social Welfare Policies in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Countries: Globalization and Democracy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 91-134, June.
    5. Italo Colantone & Piero Stanig, 2017. "The Trade Origins of Economic Nationalism: Import Competition and Voting Behavior in Western Europe," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 1749, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    6. Ehrlich Sean D, 2010. "Who Supports Compensation? Individual Preferences for Trade-Related Unemployment Insurance," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-24, April.
    7. Niamh Hardiman & Patrick Murphy & Orlaith Burke, 2008. "The Politics of Economic Adjustment in a Liberal Market Economy: the Social Compensation Hypothesis Revisited," Working Papers 200806, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    8. Maria Grazia Pittau & Riccardo Massari & Roberto Zelli, 2013. "Hierarchical Modelling of Disparities in Preferences for Redistribution," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 75(4), pages 556-584, August.
    9. Peter Zweifel & Ilja Neustadt, 2013. "Why Does Income Redistribution Differ Between Countries? Comparative Evidence From Germany and Switzerland," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 11(3), pages 39-47, October.
    10. Erkam Sari & Hakan Hotunluoglu, 2021. "Government Size and Openness: Insights Basedon Country Classifications," World Journal of Applied Economics, WERI-World Economic Research Institute, vol. 7(1), pages 1-16, June.
    11. repec:ces:ifodic:v:11:y:2013:i:3:p:19099103 is not listed on IDEAS

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