Abstract
The gap in total factor productivity in sawmills and wood preservation between the US and Canada generally increased from 1958 to 2005. The present paper examines the effects of the various phases of the softwood lumber dispute, including relatively free trade, Canadian export taxes, and low and high countervailing duties, on this productivity gap. Exogeneous control variables include US housing demand, the exchange rate, softwood lumber prices, and ratios of capital and nonproduction labor to labor. The effects of phases of the dispute on US imports from Canada are also examined.
Citation
Nagubadi, Rao V; Thompson, Henry; Zhang, Daowei. 2009. Productivity and trade during the softwood lumber dispute. The International Trade Journal 23(3):301-324.