A new Chicago Booth website polls expert economists on public policy issues. It recently asked people to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement:
Federal mandates that government purchases should be “buy American” unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, have a significant positive impact on U.S. manufacturing employment.
Here are two responses that caught my eye:
| Participant | Vote | Confidence | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daron Acemoglu | Agree | 6 |
4 years ago I would have disagreed. Recent evidence (Autor Dorn Hanson) suggests yes.Caveat: costs from higher prices & other inefficiencies
-see background information here |
| David Autor | Disagree | 4 |
Hard to believe this does much at all. But I’m speaking based on my prior. I’ve not seen any rigorous analysis.
|
The aggregate outcomes were:
Trade Diversion 