Peddling Protectionism : Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression / Douglas A. Irwin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Irwin, Douglas A., author.

Contributor:

Irwin, Douglas A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Tariff Act of 1930.

United States.

Tariff--United States--History--20th century.

Tariff.

Depressions--1929--United States.

Depressions.

United States--Commercial policy--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (244 pages)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The Smoot-Hawley tariff of 1930, which raised U.S. duties on hundreds of imported goods to record levels, is America's most infamous trade law. It is often associated with--and sometimes blamed for--the onset of the Great Depression, the collapse of world trade, and the global spread of protectionism in the 1930s. Even today, the ghosts of congressmen Reed Smoot and Willis Hawley haunt anyone arguing for higher trade barriers; almost single-handedly, they made protectionism an insult rather than a compliment. In Peddling Protectionism, Douglas Irwin provides the first comprehensive history of the causes and effects of this notorious measure, explaining why it largely deserves its reputation for combining bad politics and bad economics and harming the U.S. and world economies during the Depression. In four brief, clear chapters, Irwin presents an authoritative account of the politics behind Smoot-Hawley, its economic consequences, the foreign reaction it provoked, and its aftermath and legacy. Starting as a Republican ploy to win the farm vote in the 1928 election by increasing duties on agricultural imports, the tariff quickly grew into a logrolling, pork barrel free-for-all in which duties were increased all around, regardless of the interests of consumers and exporters. After Herbert Hoover signed the bill, U.S. imports fell sharply and other countries retaliated by increasing tariffs on American goods, leading U.S. exports to shrivel as well. While Smoot-Hawley was hardly responsible for the Great Depression, Irwin argues, it contributed to a decline in world trade and provoked discrimination against U.S. exports that lasted decades. Featuring a new preface by the author, Peddling Protectionism tells a fascinating story filled with valuable lessons for trade policy today.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition

Introduction

Chapter 1. Domestic Politics

Chapter 2. Economic Consequences

Chapter 3. Foreign Retaliation

Chapter 4. Aftermath and Legacy

Appendix: The Economists' Statement against the Smoot-Hawley Tariff

Acknowledgments

References

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9781400888429

1400888425

OCLC:

1001287782