Winners and Losers: The Psychology of Foreign Trade

by Diana C. Mutz

Overview

From acclaimed political scientist Diana Mutz, a revealing look at why people's attitudes on trade differ from their own self-interest

Winners and Losers challenges conventional wisdom about how American citizens form opinions on international trade. While dominant explanations in economics emphasize personal self-interest—and whether individuals gain or lose financially as a result of trade—this book takes a psychological approach, demonstrating how people view the complex world of international trade through the lens of interpersonal relations.

Drawing on psychological theories of preference formation as well as original surveys and experiments, Diana Mutz finds that in contrast to the economic view of trade as cooperation for mutual benefit, many Americans view trade as a competition between the United States and other countries—a contest of us versus them. These people favor trade as long as they see Americans as the "winners" in these interactions, viewing trade as a way to establish dominance over foreign competitors. For others, trade is a means of maintaining more peaceful relations between countries. Just as individuals may exchange gifts to cement relationships, international trade is a tie that binds nations together in trust and cooperation.

Winners and Losers reveals how people's orientations toward in-groups and out-groups play a central role in influencing how they think about trade with foreign countries, and shows how a better understanding of the psychological underpinnings of public opinion can lead to lasting economic and societal benefits.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691203034
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/27/2021
Series:	Princeton Studies in Political Behavior , #36
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Diana C. Mutz is the Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is director of the Institute for the Study of Citizens and Politics. Her books include In-Your-Face Politics (Princeton) and Hearing the Other Side. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Table of Contents

List of Figures vii

Preface xi

1 Beyond the Conventional Wisdom 1

2 At Face Value: What Americans Say They Like and Dislike about Trade 25

3 Partisan Trends in Mass Opinion on Trade 52

4 How Much Is One American Worth? 72

5 Trade with Whom? 95

6 How Racial Attitudes Affect Support for International Trade 123

7 Is This Inevitable? A Cross-National Comparison 140

8 Media Coverage of Trade: The Vividness of Losers 162

9 Attributing Responsibility for Job Loss 189

10 The Impact of Trade on Elections 203

11 The Role of Trade in the 2016 Election 227

12 Shaping Opinions on Trade: What Works and with What Consequences 245

13 The Future of Mass Support for International Trade 263

Appendix: Descriptions of Sources of Data 277

Notes 281

Bibliography 301

Index 331

Online Appendix: press.princeton.edu/books/winners-and-losers

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This landmark book is the most compelling and comprehensive challenge available to the prevailing economic interpretations of where American preferences about foreign trade come from. Winners and Losers is a tour de force."—Richard K. Herrmann, coeditor of Ending the Cold War: Interpretations, Causation, and the Study of International Relations

"Persuasive. Mutz draws on a wide range of novel survey data and experiments to offer what is perhaps the broadest and most original account of how public attitudes about trade are based on psychological factors rather than calculations of economic self-interest."—John Sides, coauthor of Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America

Editorial Reviews

Winner of the American Political Science Association Best Book Award

From the Publisher