Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2002

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Chambers College of Business and Economics

Department

Economics

Committee Chair

Subhayu Bandyopadhyay.

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three essays on trade policy and factor mobility. The first essay of the dissertation deals with issues on trade policy. It focuses on the possibility of recipient immiserization under optimal export taxation in a multi-country framework. We find asymmetry between two nations is very crucial for recipient immiserization. The interesting finding is that being more aggressive in taxation is a disadvantage in gaining from receipts of transfers. The larger exporter exercises more market power and is also more vulnerable to the adverse welfare effects of transfer.;The second and third essays explore the issues of trade policy as well as factor mobility. Process of trade liberalization is discussed in both essays. Factor mobility is described in the form of labor movement. In particular the two essays talk about migration. The second essay discusses illegal immigration between Mexico and the U.S. and how trade liberalization affects the flow of illegal immigrants. Results show that trade liberalization in Mexico reduces the undocumented labor flow from Mexico to the U.S. The focus of the third essay is on legal immigration to the U.S. from seven different source countries. We analyze the importance of push factors e.g. low GNP, high unemployment rate and increasing population for the level of legal immigration. Obviously, the key push factor is the tariff rate. We find that trade liberalization in the seven source countries impedes the flow of legal immigration to the U.S. In addition, growing population of the origin countries is found to stimulate the flow of legal immigration, whereas a higher GDP at origin reduces the flow of legal immigration.

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