Question

When a Country Places import restrictions on foreign products that raises the price of those

products; why do the citizens rarely (almost never) protest this action by their government?

a. Many countries do not allow consumers to produce their governments political actions
b. the people believe that if these import restrictions are taken away, the foreign producers will raise their prices to the same level as a domestic producers
c. the citizens believe that if they do something to hurt domestic employment for one product, then those employees that could lose their jobs will then take some action that will hurt their employment
d. typically, although the total cost that all consumers will pay for a given product are high, they are fairly small for each individual consumer
e. consumers believe that prices will always go up, so they do not care if import restrictions take place

Answer 1

Citizens rarely protest import restrictions because the individual cost impact is small and there's a belief in protecting domestic jobs. The hidden costs of protectionism, such as loss of comparative advantage, are less apparent to consumers.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a country places import restrictions on foreign products, thereby raising the price of those products, citizens rarely protest. One reason is that typically, although the total cost paid by all consumers for a given product is high, the impact on individual consumers is relatively small. Another reason is the belief that such restrictions help protect domestic employment, suggesting if these jobs are threatened, there could be negative repercussions on their own employment. Additionally, protectionism involves broader economic trade-offs including the loss of benefits from comparative advantage, specialized learning, and economies of scale, concepts which are not necessarily obvious to everyday consumers. Therefore, the immediate visible benefit of supporting domestic producers may overshadow the less visible long-term economic costs of protectionism.