Import Quotas and Industrial Performance

Abstract

With the internationalization of markets and the progressive liberalization of world trade, the threat of foreign competition has revived the age old cry for protectionism: to protect the nation’s balance of payments; to protect domestic labour from import-induced unemployment; to protect domestic industry from the unfair competition of low-wage countries. These arguments are especially appealing in times of recession, and political office seekers are not loath to embrace them, especially in election years.