Trade liberalisation and growth in developing countries

Trade liberalisation in developing countries over the last 20 years has often been implemented with the expectation of growth being stimulated; yet the evidence on its growth enhancing effects is mixed. This paper argues that problems with mis-specification and the diversity of liberalisation indices used are in part responsible for the inconclusiveness. Using a dynamic panel framework and three different indicators of liberalisation, the paper finds that liberalisation does appear to impact upon growth, albeit with a lag. The evidence points to a J curve type response and this finding is robust to changes in specification, sample size and data period, (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.