Commerce in culture: Institutions, markets, and competition in the world film trade (Egypt, Mexico)

Why do states vary in their responses to the multifaceted competitive pressures of globalization? Why, in particular, do some states accept a measure of economic loss in exchange for cultural gain? How much autonomous control do they retain in the cultural domain? This dissertation addresses these and related questions by examining the politic economy of the world film trade, the most prominent ‘cultural industry’ of the twentieth century. The specific empirical focus is trade and cultural policymaking in the Egyptian and Mexican film sectors since the 1930s. These two longstanding regional film producers have faced similar international pressures, but they have responded in strikingly different ways, sometimes protecting their markets and at other times adopting more liberal policies toward imports. I explain variations in tariff levels, subsidies, quotas, and other such measures, arguing that the diversity of state responses to globalization derives from prominent domestic-level differences. These differences have fundamentally political origins that tend to persist in the face of global pressures.; The dissertation moves beyond standard approaches by highlighting the interconnections between key political actors in two distinct areas: market structure and institutional parity. Market structure denotes the degree of domestic competition in an industry. It accounts for the capacity of societal groups to mount collective action and demand favorable trade policies. Institutional parity refers to the relationship between contending economic and cultural institutions governing the film sector. It helps to explain why cultural interests sometimes prevail over economic ones in the bureaucratic struggles shaping policy. By showing how domestic markets and state institutions mediate international pressures, I challenge conventional expectations of institutional and policy convergence in a globalizing world. I also expand the scope of the debate to include cultural production in a domain that typically addresses only economic outcomes.