Protection is a persistent feature of economic policy in developed and developing countries alike. However, it is now widely accepted that high protection holds back economic growth. Why is protection so pervasive when it is widely recognised to be against the national interest of the countries which impose it? This contradiction is the focus of this important volume, first published in 1986. Economists from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia have written about their countries and draw conclusions on the causes of protection from statistical analysis and from interindustry structure.

1. Indonesia: The Structure and Causes of Manufacturing Sector Protection Mari Pangestu and Boediono 2. The Philippines: The Structure and Causes of Manufacturing Sector Protection Norma A. Tan 3. Thailand: Manufacturing Industry Protection Issues and Empirical Studies Narongchai Akrasanee and Juanjai Ajanant 4. Malaysia: The Structure and Causes of Manufacturing Sector Protection Lee Kiong Hock 5. Singapore: The Structure and Causes of Manufacturing Sector Protection Tay Boon Nga 6. Austalia: Political Economy of Manufacturing Protection Kym Anderson and Ross Garnaut 7. ASEAN and Australia: A General Equilibrium Analysis of Manufacturing Sector Protection Glenn W. Harrison and E.E. Rutström 8. Import Quotas and Voluntary Export Restraints: Exporting Countries Carl Hamilton 9. ASEAN Systems for Allocation of Export Licenses Under VERs Carl Hamilton 10. Australian Protection and the ASEAN Countries Peter G. Warr 11. Conclusions and Suggestions for Policy Action Christopher Findlay and Ross Garnaut