Saha, Amrita (2016) Essays in Indian trade policy. Doctoral thesis (PhD), University of Sussex.

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Abstract

My thesis explores the political economy of trade protection in India. The first essay
outlines the political economy of trade protection in India. My second essay asks: Has
Protection really been for Sale in India? To answer this question, I use a unique dataset
to explain the political economy of trade protection since liberalisation. The traditional
Grossman and Helpman (1992) (GH henceforth) model of Protection for Sale (PFS henceforth)
is used with a new measure of political organization. I undertake cross-sectional
analysis for several years from 1990-2007 and use the pooled dataset. The third essay
outlines the modified PFS framework that introduces a new measure of lobbying effectiveness
to analyse how heterogeneity in lobbying affects trade protection. The underlying
framework is based on the idea that government preferences or the market structure of the
industry can influence lobbying effectiveness. The empirical evidence provides estimates
on effectiveness and examines its determinants. The fourth essay explores: Is Protection
still for Sale with Lobbying Effectiveness? I undertake an estimation of the modified PFS
model against the conventional results presented in my second essay. I examine if differences
in lobbying effectiveness can explain the variation in tariff protection levels across
Indian manufacturing sectors and construct a direct measure of lobbying effectiveness for
Indian manufacturing. Finally, I include additional political factors of importance to Indian
trade policy. The fifth essay asks: Join Hands or Walk Alone? I examine the factors that
affect the choice of lobbying strategy of Indian manufacturing firms for trade policy and
consider the exclusive use of a single strategy, to lobby collectively (Join hands) and lobby
individually (Walk Alone), along with the possibility of a dual strategy i.e. a combination
of collective and individual lobbying using information from a primary survey across 146
firms. The results are new for India and reveal the overall preference of a dual lobbying
strategy.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Schools and Departments:	University of Sussex Business School > Economics
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Depositing User:	Library Cataloguing
Date Deposited:	27 Oct 2016 10:38
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2016 10:38
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/65085

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