The Optimal Tax on Antebellum U.S. Cotton Exports
The Optimal Tax on Antebellum U.S. Cotton Exports

Author: Douglas A. Irwin

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 46

ISBN-13:

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The United States produced about 80 percent of the world's cotton in the decades prior to the Civil War. How much monopoly power did the United States possess in the world cotton market and what would have been the effect of an optimal export tax? This paper estimates the elasticity of foreign demand for U.S. cotton exports and uses the elasticity in a simple partial equilibrium model to calculate the optimal export tax and its effect on prices, trade, and welfare. The results indicate that the export demand elasticity for U.S. cotton was about -1.7 and that the optimal export tax of about 50 percent would have raised U.S. welfare by about $6 million, about 0.1 percent of U.S. GDP or about 0.5 percent of the South's GDP.

Cotton Market and Trade Issues for the U.S. and China
Cotton Market and Trade Issues for the U.S. and China

Author: Sophia A. Brouwer

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781612091259

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Cotton and other fibers are used to produce textiles. The United States is the largest exporter of cotton, and China is the world's largest importer. China is also the world's largest producer and consumer of cotton. However, data on China's domestic cotton market are considered unreliable, and new sources of information are needed. Exports are important for China's textile industry, and shifts in textile export volume affect China's demand for fiber. This new book examines the current cotton market and trade issues for the U.S. and China.