ABSTRACT
The relationship between trade and development has been the subject matter of considerable research throughout the last decades. Despite this, the debate continues about key questions related to trade policy and whether greater ‘openness’ enhances economic growth and poverty reduction. There is no uniform relationship between openness and economic growth across countries, the empirical evidence is inconclusive. Furthermore, it has been argued that in some cases such as China, India and Vietnam, trade liberalization was an outcome of successful growth rather than a prerequisite to it.
