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dc.titleCan Evidence-Based Information Shift Preferences Towards Trade Policy?
dc.contributor.authorAlfaro, Laura
dc.contributor.authorChen, Maggie
dc.contributor.authorChor, Davin
dc.contributor.orgunitDepartment of Research and Chief Economist
dc.date.available2026-05-14T00:05:00
dc.date.issue2026-05-14T00:05:00
dc.description.abstractAmid public skepticism toward trade, we investigate whether evidence-based information - concise statements of research findings - can shape trade policy preferences. In survey experiments conducted on U.S. general population samples from 2018-2022, we consistently uncover a “backfire effect”: information highlighting the benefits of trade, such as job gains in productive sectors or lower prices for consumers, induces protectionist preferences. We interpret this effect as stemming from prior-biased belief updating, whereby the information activates pre-existing concerns about competition for jobs and trade relations with China. These associations are evoked particularly among limited-attention respondents, as well as politically-engaged Republicans.
dc.format.extent93
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0014042
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Can-Evidence-Based-Information-Shift-Preferences-Towards-Trade-Policy.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectIntegration and Trade
dc.subjectTariff System
dc.subjectTrade Policy
dc.subjectManufacturing Industry
dc.subjectLabor
dc.subjectLabor Force
dc.subjectTaxation
dc.subject.jelcodeD80 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty: General
dc.subject.jelcodeF10 - Trade: General
dc.subject.jelcodeF60 - Economic Impacts of Globalization: General
dc.subject.keywordsInformation;Trade policy preferences;Protectionism
dc.typeWorking Papers
idb.identifier.pubnumberIDB-WP-01827
idb.operationRG-K1098
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