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How Can Economic Interests Influence Support for Free Trade?

Author

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  • Fordham, Benjamin O.
  • Kleinberg, Katja B.

Abstract

Recent research on the sources of individual attitudes toward trade policy comes to very different conclusions about the role of economic self-interest. The skeptical view suggests that long-standing symbolic predispositions and sociotropic perceptions shape trade policy opinions more than one's own material well-being. We believe this conclusion is premature for two reasons. First, the practice of using one attitude to predict another raises questions about direction of causation that cannot be answered with the data at hand. This problem is most obvious when questions about the expected impact of trade are used to predict opinions about trade policy. Second, the understanding of self-interest employed in most studies of trade policy attitudes is unrealistically narrow. In reality, the close relationship between individual economic interests and the interests of the groups in which individuals are embedded creates indirect pathways through which one's position in the economy can shape individual trade policy preferences. We use the data employed by Mansfield and Mutz to support our argument that a more complete account of trade attitude formation is needed and that in such an account economic interests may yet play an important role.1

Suggested Citation

  • Fordham, Benjamin O. & Kleinberg, Katja B., 2012. "How Can Economic Interests Influence Support for Free Trade?," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 66(2), pages 311-328, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:intorg:v:66:y:2012:i:02:p:311-328_00
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Schaffer, Lena Maria & Spilker, Gabriele, 2013. "Ego- vs. Sociotropic: Using Survey Experiments to Understand Individuals’ Trade Preferences," Papers 620, World Trade Institute.
    2. Joseph P. Daniels & Emily Kapszukiewicz & Marc Ruhr, 2020. "International Trade Policy Preferences: The Impact of Patriotism and Nationalism Pre- and Post-9/11," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 48(1), pages 87-98, March.
    3. Osman S Kiratli, 2023. "Loving globalization: High-growth enterprises and public opinion on globalization in Europe," European Union Politics, , vol. 24(2), pages 286-306, June.
    4. Osman S Kiratli, 2019. "Aiding together? Europeans’ attitudes on common aid policy," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(2), pages 261-281, June.
    5. Bernauer, Thomas & Spilker, Gabriele & Umaña, Víctor, 2014. "Different countries same partners: Experimental Evidence on PTA Partner Country Choice from Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Vietnam," Papers 739, World Trade Institute.
    6. Blanchard, Emily J. & Bown, Chad P. & Chor, Davin, 2024. "Did Trump’s trade war impact the 2018 election?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    7. Bernd Schlipphak & Paul Meiners & Osman Sabri Kiratli, 2022. "Crisis affectedness, elite cues and IO public legitimacy," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 877-898, October.
    8. Adam William Chalmers & Lisa Maria Dellmuth, 2015. "Fiscal redistribution and public support for European integration," European Union Politics, , vol. 16(3), pages 386-407, September.
    9. Hannah Lukinovich & Dmitriy Nurullayev & James C. Garand, 2020. "Trade‐Induced Job Loss and Support for Free Trade," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(5), pages 2017-2031, September.
    10. Celeste Beesley & Scott Cooper, 2023. "Micro-foundations of the commercial peace: The effect of net exports on Ukrainian attitudes towards war with Russia," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 60(6), pages 951-967, November.
    11. Judith L. Goldstein & Margaret E. Peters, 2014. "Nativism or Economic Threat: Attitudes Toward Immigrants During the Great Recession," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 376-401, May.
    12. Tobias Heinrich & Timothy M. Peterson, 2020. "Foreign Policy as Pork-barrel Spending: Incentives for Legislator Credit Claiming on Foreign Aid," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(7-8), pages 1418-1442, August.
    13. Nguyen, Quynh, 2015. "“Mind the Gap”: Inequality Aversion and Mass Support for Protectionism," Papers 838, World Trade Institute.
    14. Michael Breen & Robert Gillanders, 2015. "Political Trust, Corruption, and Ratings of the IMF and the World Bank," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 337-364, March.
    15. Philipp Harms & Nils D. Steiner, 2023. "Attitudes towards Globalization: A Survey," Working Papers 2305, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    16. Hye‐Sung Kim & Youngchae Lee & Scott Huffmon, 2022. "Public opinion on U.S. investment in foreign countries: Survey evidence from 11 southern states in the United States," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(5), pages 1113-1124, September.
    17. David H. Bearce & Brandy J. Jolliff Scott, 2019. "Popular non-support for international organizations: How extensive and what does this represent?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 187-216, June.
    18. Henning Schmidtke, 2019. "Elite legitimation and delegitimation of international organizations in the media: Patterns and explanations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 633-659, December.

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