Abstract
An event study methodology is used to study the issue of whether or not US steel producers capture the economic rents created by trade restrictions. Cross-sectional analysis is used to specify the types of firms most likely to capture the economic rents. Data were obtained on 22 major integrated steel producers and mini-mills. The event study, using both the portfolio and unconstrained approach, indicates that steel firms capture a statistically significant percentage of the economic rents created by trade restrictions. The cross-sectional results show that, in 1977, the imposition of the trigger price mechanism benefited the smaller integrated producers rather than the steel industry leaders. In 1982, the mini-mills benefited almost as much as the major integrated producers from the imposition of voluntary export restraints. The negative and significant coefficient of the change in the net income variable in the results from 1977 and 1982 confirms that less profitable producers benefit more from protection.