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Openness and growth: what have we learned?

Author

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  • Francisco Rodriguez
Abstract
This paper discusses recent evidence regarding the existence of a cross-country empirical relationship between openness to international trade and economic growth. I discuss the empirical contributions of Warner (2003), Dollar and Kraay (2002), and Wacziarg and Welch (2003), and argue that these studies fail to convincingly establish a positive link between trade and growth. I also discuss the 1990-03 experience and show that growth does not display a significant correlation with any measure of trade openness over this period.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisco Rodriguez, 2007. "Openness and growth: what have we learned?," Working Papers 51, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    • Handle: RePEc:une:wpaper:51
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Astorga, Pablo, 2010. "A century of economic growth in Latin America," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 232-243, July.
    2. Buch, Claudia M. & Toubal, Farid, 2009. "Openness and growth: The long shadow of the Berlin Wall," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 409-422, September.
    3. Mariam Camarero & Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso & Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann & Cecilio Tamarit, 2016. "Trade Openness and Income: A Tale of Two Regions," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(3), pages 386-408, March.
    4. Vladimir Popov, 2010. "Development theories and development experience: half a century journey," Working Papers w0153, New Economic School (NES).
    5. Ingianni, Andrea, 2012. "Intra-European Union trade openness and new members’ output convergence: A time-series analysis," Economics Discussion Papers 2012-5, School of Economics, Kingston University London.
    6. Claudia Buch & Paola Monti, 2010. "Openness and income disparities: does trade explain the “Mezzogiorno effect”?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 145(4), pages 667-688, January.
    7. Razzak, Weshah, 2005. "Explaining the gaps in labour productivity in some developed countries," MPRA Paper 1888, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised May 2006.
    8. Matthias Busse & Jens Koeniger, 2015. "Trade and economic growth: A re-examination of the empirical evidence," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(4), pages 2862-2876.
    9. Antoni Estevadeordal & Alan M. Taylor, 2013. "Is the Washington Consensus Dead? Growth, Openness, and the Great Liberalization, 1970s–2000s," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1669-1690, December.
    10. Razzak, Weshah, 2006. "Explaining the gaps in labour productivity for some developed countries," MPRA Paper 53, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Agbahoungba, Lesfran Sam Wanilo & Thiam, Ibrahima, 2018. "Effets du Commerce Extérieur sur la Croissance Economique en Zone CEDEAO [Economic Growth effects of External Trade in ECOWAS]," MPRA Paper 89035, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    12. José PINEDA & Lenin BALZA & María CABALLERO & Leonardo ORTEGA, 2008. "Market Diversification and Exports Growth in Latin America," EcoMod2008 23800109, EcoMod.
    13. Frensch, Richard & Gaucaite Wittich, Vitalija, 2009. "Product variety and technical change," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 242-257, March.
    14. Rob Vos, 2007. "What we do and don’t know about trade liberalization and poverty reduction," Working Papers 50, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    15. Dürnecker, Georg & Meyer, Moritz & Vega-Redondo, Fernando, 2014. "The Network Origins of Economic Growth," Working Papers 14-06, University of Mannheim, Department of Economics.
    16. Georg Duernecker & Moritz Meyer & Fernando Vega‐Redondo, 2022. "Trade openness and growth: A network‐based approach," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(6), pages 1182-1203, September.
    17. E. Tsanana & X. Chapsa & C. Katrakilidis, 2016. "Is growth corrupted or bureaucratic? Panel evidence from the enlarged EU," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(33), pages 3131-3147, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic growth; openness; trade policy. cross-country growth regressions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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