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Trade Adjustment Assistance: Welfare and Incentive Effects of Payments to Displaced Workers

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  • James A. Brander
  • Barbara J. Spencer

Abstract

We analyze the welfare effects of conditional trade adjustment assistance (i.e. assistance that is received only if displaced workers remain unemployed), and compare the conditional program with unconditional assistance. Taking the level of assistance as exogenous, we show that either the conditional or unconditional program may impose greater efficiency costs, depending on underlying parameters. We then introduce an explicit social welfare function and solve for the optimal level of assistance for each program. Finally, we compare the optimized values of the two programs. If the distribution of wage offers is uniform, the unconditional program is welfare superior.

Suggested Citation

  • James A. Brander & Barbara J. Spencer, 1989. "Trade Adjustment Assistance: Welfare and Incentive Effects of Payments to Displaced Workers," NBER Working Papers 3071, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3071
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    Cited by:

    1. Feenstra, Robert C. & Lewis, Tracy R., 1994. "Trade adjustment assistance and Pareto gains from trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3-4), pages 201-222, May.
    2. Feestra, R.C. & Lewis, T.R. & Mcmillan, J., 1989. "Designing Policies To Open Trade," Papers 349, California Davis - Institute of Governmental Affairs.
    3. Robert C. Feenstra & Tracy Lewis & John McMillan, 1990. "Designing Policy To Open Trade," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(3), pages 223-240, November.
    4. Sanjay Jain, 2017. "Worker retraining and transfer payments: The political economy of social protection," WIDER Working Paper Series 044, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Lake, James & Millimet, Daniel L., 2016. "An empirical analysis of trade-related redistribution and the political viability of free trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 156-178.
    6. Davidson, Carl & Matusz, Steven J. & Nelson, Douglas R., 2007. "Can compensation save free trade?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 167-186, March.
    7. Saint-Paul, Gilles, 2007. "Making sense of Bolkestein-bashing: Trade liberalization under segmented labor markets," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 152-174, September.
    8. Carl Davidson & Steven J. Matusz, 2006. "Trade Liberalization And Compensation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 47(3), pages 723-747, August.
    9. Kletzer, Lori, 2003. "Trade-related Job Loss and Wage Insurance: A Synthetic Review," Santa Cruz Center for International Economics, Working Paper Series qt27w182ht, Center for International Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    10. Burfisher, Mary E. & Hanson, Kenneth & Hopkins, Jeffrey & Somwaru, Agapi, 2004. "Global Agriculural Reform and U.S. Agricultural Adjustment Capacity," Conference papers 331303, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    11. Wilfred J. Ethier, "undated". "Punishment and Dispute Settlement in Trade Agreements," EPRU Working Paper Series 01-14, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    12. ICHIDA Toshihiro, 2015. "Trade-offs in Compensating Transfers for a Multiple-skill Model of Occupational Choice," Discussion papers 15083, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    13. repec:smu:ecowpa:1405 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Sanjay Jain, 2017. "Worker retraining and transfer payments: The political economy of social protection," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-44, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Kletzer, Lori, 2003. "Trade-related Job Loss and Wage Insurance: A Synthetic Review," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt27w182ht, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    16. Breisinger, Clemens, 2005. "Do Markets Care About Ethic Minorities? Evidence From A CGE Model for Northwest Vietnam," Conference papers 331356, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    17. Ethier, Wilfred J., 2001. "Theoretical problems in negotiating trade liberalization," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 209-232, June.
    18. Frank Barry & Joe Durkan, 1996. "Team Aer Lingus and Irish Steel: An Application of the Declining High-Wage Industries Literature," Open Access publications 10197/5743, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    19. Donald O. Parsons, 2023. "How should job displacement wage losses be insured?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 446-446, July.
    20. Rossana Patrón, 2000. "Effects from trade with heterogeneous workers and minimum wages: numerical exercises," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1700, Department of Economics - dECON.
    21. Priya Ranjan, 2014. "Globalization, Jobs, and Welfare: The Roles of Social Protection and Redistribution," Working Papers 141507, University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics.
    22. Ranjan, Priya, 2016. "Globalization and risk averse workers: The roles of labor market and trade policies," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 64-79.
    23. Magee, Christopher, 2003. "Endogenous tariffs and trade adjustment assistance," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 203-222, May.
    24. Gray, David, 1996. "How unemployable are displaced manufacturing workers?: An analysis of adjustment costs and supplemental adjustment assistance benefits in France," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 685-708, December.

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