Trade Orientation, Distortions and Growth in Developing Countries / Sebastian Edwards.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Edwards, Sebastian.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w3716.

NBER working paper series no. w3716

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1991.

Summary:

In this paper I use a cross country data set to analyze the relationship between trade orientation, trade distortions and growth. I first develop a simple endogenous growth model that emphasizes the process of technological absorption in small developing countries. According to this model countries that liberalize their international trade and become more open will tend to grow faster. Whether this higher growth is permanent, or only a short run result, will depend on the relative size of some key parameters. using nine alternative indicators of trade orientation I find out that the data supports the view that more open economies tend to grow faster than economies with trade distortions. The results are robust to the method of estimation, to correction for errors in variables and for the deletion of outliers. I finally argue that future research in the area should move towards the empirical investigation of the microeconomics of technological innovations and growth.

Notes:

Print version record

May 1991.