More than 170 years ago, Frédéric Bastiat noted in his masterly work Economic Sophisms that the “opposition to free trade rests upon errors, or, if you prefer, upon half-truths.”1 Ever since Adam Smith successfully replaced mercantilist orthodoxy with free trade doctrine in his celebrated...

The paper empirically examines the differential effects of trade on economic growth and investment based on cross-country data. In general, the results are largely consistent with the positive impact of trade on economic growth as found in the literature. However, the empirical results based on...

This paper analyzes China's economic performance in the last 25 years and discusses its prospect for growth in the future. China has enjoyed high annual GDP growth rates of about ten percent in the last 25 years. Exports and investment were the two driving forces of the growth process. FDI plays...

The paper reviews the evidence of the impact of trade liberalisation on the economic performance of poor developing countries with respect to poverty reduction, the distribution of income within countries, the distribution of income between countries, trade and the balance of payments, and...

According to the Washington Consensus, developing countries’ growth would benefit from reductions in barriers to trade. However, the empirical basis for judging trade reforms is weak. Econometrics are mostly ad hoc; results are typically not judged against models; policies are poorly measured;...

Trade promotes economic growth, alleviates poverty and helps countries reach their development goals. However, developing countries – in particular the least developed – face difficulties in making trade happen and turning trade into economic growth. The Aid for Trade Initiative – launched...

This paper investigates the impact of trade openness on economic growth and development for a sample of 85 middle-income countries over the period 1970-2009. The paper employs non-stationary heterogeneous panel cointegration techniques that take into consideration the impact of cross-section...

This note identifies Asia-Pacific LDCs and LLDCs with export-portfolios and economies which are at greatest risk from the recent collapse in commodity prices (June 2014 to January 2015). The primary objective is to identify countries whose exports have been highly vulnerable to the recent...

The paper empirically examines the differential effects of trade on economic growth and investment based on cross-country data. In general, the results are largely consistent with the positive impact of trade on economic growth as found in the literature. However, the empirical results based on...

The paper reviews the evidence of the impact of trade liberalisation on the economic performance of poor developing countries with respect to trade and the balance of payments, economic growth, poverty reduction, the distribution of income within countries, and the distribution of income between...