This paper aims to contribute to the contemporary policy debate on the role of trade policy reforms in economic development and poverty reduction in developing countries through a review of Trade Liberalisation and The Poverty of Nations by A.P. Thirlwall and Penelope Pacheco-Lopez (Cheltenham,...

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;...