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The structure of lobbying and protection in U.S. agriculture

Author

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  • Gawande, Kishore

Abstract

The author surveys the empirical literature on the political economy of agricultural protection. He uses a detailed data set of agricultural Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions over five U.S. congressional election cycles over the 1991-2000 period to investigate the relationship between lobbying spending and agricultural protection. A detailed graphical analysis of campaign contributions by the agricultural PACs indicates that although there are very many PACs, in most sectors the majority of contributions are made by very few PACs. Econometric analysis reveals that lobbying spending by agricultural PACs is positively associated with the use of nontariff barriers and specific tariffs by the United States. There is a strong association between the average U.S. tariff on goods that benefit from U.S. export subsidies and lobbying spending. And there is no association between agricultural protection and trade measures such as import penetration and the export-to-output ratio.

Suggested Citation

  • Gawande, Kishore, 2005. "The structure of lobbying and protection in U.S. agriculture," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3722, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3722
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Willmann, Gerald & Debaere, Peter & Glaser, Toni, 2015. "Choosing between Protectionism and Free Trade in an Uncertain World," CEPR Discussion Papers 10625, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Ali, Ershad & Talukder, Dayal, 2010. "Agricultural Trade Liberalisation and Economic Growth in Developing Countries: Analysis of Distributional Consequences," Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy, Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade, vol. 11(2), pages 1-13, August.

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    Keywords

    Economic Theory&Research; Politics and Government; Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems; Wetlands; ICT Policy and Strategies;
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