Abstract

A similar set of concepts has been central to the literatures on the formation of trade policy coalitions and the “new economics of institutions”: the political and economic consequences of the degree to which assets are specific to a particular economic activity. In this survey, the authors take the necessary first step of summarizing the main findings of these two literatures and then suggest ways in which the issue might be joined. In addition to providing a more coherent understanding of the findings of these two literatures and some new directions for them, the authors show that many puzzles remain in the field of trade politics—puzzles for which there are no appealing answers or, where there are answers, no strong evidence in support of them. This essay, then, in addition to being a theoretical review of the literature, puts forward an agenda for future study of international trade politics.

Keywords

PoliticsSet (abstract data type)EconomicsField (mathematics)Positive economicsInternational political economyInternational relationsPolitical scienceLaw

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Publication Info

Year
1996
Type
article
Volume
29
Issue
6
Pages
689-717
Citations
449
Access
Closed

Social Impact

Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions

Citation Metrics

449
OpenAlex
9
Influential
112
CrossRef

Cite This

James Ε. Alt, Jeffry Frieden, Michael Gilligan et al. (1996). The Political Economy of International Trade. Comparative Political Studies , 29 (6) , 689-717. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414096029006004

Identifiers

DOI
10.1177/0010414096029006004

Data Quality

Data completeness: 77%