  We investigate how protectionist policies influence economic growth. Our
empirical strategy exploits an extraordinary tax scandal that gave rise to an
unexpected change of government in Sweden. A free-trade majority in parliament
was overturned by a protectionist majority in 1887. The protectionist
government increased tariffs. We employ the synthetic control method to select
control countries against which economic growth in Sweden can be compared. We
do not find evidence suggesting that protectionist policies influenced economic
growth and examine channels why. The new tariff laws increased government
revenue. However, the results do not suggest that the protectionist government
stimulated the economy by increasing government expenditure.
