Western Europe experienced a Golden Age of economic growth from the early 1950s to the early 1970s during which the average rate of growth of real GDP per person was just over 4 per cent per year. When viewed through the lens of growth accounting the fast growth of the Golden Age was based on...

Trade theories predict and explain the consequences of economic integration. Generally, they show that freer international trade leads to specialisation, technological convergence and faster economic growth. This study compares the conclusions of the trade theories with empirical observations of...