This survey of the recent literature asks: how important is trade policy for poverty reduction? We consider the effects …-level research, and case studies) supports the view that trade openness contributes greatly to growth. Moreover, trade openness does … not have systematic effects on the poor beyond its effect on overall growth. Trade policy is only one of many determinants …

This paper examines the empirical relationship between trade and total factor productivity (TFP) in South Africa. It … uses (i) a time series approach where trade is defined in terms of aggregate outcomes, i.e., as the share of imports plus … exports in GDP, and (ii) a cross sectional approach, where trade is defined in terms of trade policy, i.e., as actual trade …

This paper provides an overview of trade reform in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) since 1996 and … a quantitative assessment of potential effects on trade patterns and tariff revenue of the current reform agenda …. Despite evidence of significant trade complementarities within WAEMU, implementation of the union's current trade regime still …

presents several conventional techniques for assessing competitiveness, namely the real exchange rate and recent trade … many post-conflict situations. The real exchange measure and trade measures suggest some mild erosion of competitiveness in …

This paper examines the effects of trade costs on macroeconomic volatility. We first construct a dynamic, two …-country general equilibrium model, where the degree of market integration depends directly on trade costs (transport costs, tariffs …, etc.). The model is a extension of Obstfeld and Rogoff (1995). Naturally, a reduction in trade costs leads to more market …

the gravity model and focusing on two samples, the world and Africa. Our empirical findings suggest that, in principle …, membership in a currency union should benefit Africa as much as it does the rest of the world. In addition, we find evidence from … both samples that the effect of currency unions on trade is large, almost a doubling; currency unions are associated with …

This paper uses an applied general equilbrium model to decompose the effects of changes in trade and technology …-related variables on wages of skilled and unskilled labor between 1982 and 1996 in the United States. The results indicate that trade …-related variables (tariff cuts, improvement in the terms of trade, and the increase in the trade deficit) had little impact on the …

light on the dynamics of trade among CARICOM member countries, as well with the rest of world over 1980–99. Overall, the … time, CARICOM’s trade with the rest of the world has risen as well, fueled notably by the reduction of the arrangement …This paper analyzes trade in the Caribbean community (CARICOM) using a gravity model framework. The paper seeks to shed …