The empirics of trade and growth: where are the policy recommendations?

Existing literature repeatedly documented a strong correlation between trade and growth. It has also shown a causal effect of imports (though not necessarily exports) on growth in simultaneous equation models but to a lesser extent in Granger-causality tests. Export and import taxes have sometimes been found to negatively affect growth. Drawing policy conclusions from these general findings for a particular country is difficult not only because of the contradictory results but also because of potential second best world effects and the implied endogeneity of trade policy. Policy recommendations for a specific country require a careful analysis of market and institutional arrangements and can not be based on the existing cross-country literature.This project started while both authors were working at the World Bank. Views expressed in this paper do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank or the institutions they are currently affiliated with. We would like to thank Lucas Bretschger, Shanta Deverajan, Marion Jansen, Marcelo Olarreaga, Howard Pack, Karen Pittel and Paul Welfens for helpful discussions and comments. We are especially indebted to Simon Evenett for very detailed and constructive comments.