New research in economics looks back at the history of U.S. tariffs and finds that from 1870 to 1909, tariffs made U.S. businesses weaker, not stronger. Tariffs reduced the average size of businesses while increasing the price of what they produced. Because tariffs work the same way they did 100 years ago, these findings have relevance today.

Marianne Page, a professor of economics, co-founded the UC Davis Center for Poverty and Inequality Research in 2010. Today, the center creates a wealth of research and outreach opportunities for its network of faculty affiliates and graduate students across the social sciences at UC Davis and beyond.