The Political Economy of Deep Integration

Modern trade agreements no longer emphasize basic trade liberalization but instead focus on international policy coordination in a much broader sense. In this review we introduce the emerging literature on the political economy of such deep integration agreements. We organize our discussion around t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnual review of economics Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 19 - 38
Main Authors Maggi, Giovanni, Ossa, Ralph
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Palo Alto Annual Reviews 01.01.2021
Annual Reviews, Inc
Subjects
Coordination
deep integration
Foreign policy
Free trade
Hostility
International agreements
JEL F13
JEL F15
JEL F53
JEL F55
Political economy
Trade agreements
Trade liberalization
Welfare economics
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Summary:Modern trade agreements no longer emphasize basic trade liberalization but instead focus on international policy coordination in a much broader sense. In this review we introduce the emerging literature on the political economy of such deep integration agreements. We organize our discussion around three main points. First, the political conflict surrounding trade agreements is moving beyond the classic antagonism of exporter interests who gain from trade and import-competing interests who lose from trade. Second, there is a more intense popular backlash against deep integration agreements than there was against shallow integration agreements. Finally, the welfare economics of trade agreements has become more complex, in the sense that the goal of achieving freer trade is no longer sufficient as a guide to evaluating the efficiency of international agreements.
ISSN:1941-1383
1941-1391
DOI:10.1146/annurev-economics-121020-032425