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International trade and economic growth
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Until recently, it was widely accepted by academics and researchers that foreign trade and trade liberalisation created economic growth. Indeed, this proposition has been the subject of intense scrutiny. The main concepts discussed are trade openness and economic growth. Though academics may have different views of what constitute trade openness, the main elements of the trade liberalisation hypotheses are; • Removal of import quotas and other quantitative restrictions; • Reduction of the level of import tariff rates; • Devaluation of national currency so as to compensate for the elimination of protection • Removal of export taxes • Privatisation of productive firms Economic growth refers to an increase in the capacity of an economy to produce goods and services, and an increase in the market value of the goods and serviced produced. This is generally measured as the percent rate in real Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDPpc). This essay will begin by giving a brief account of the move towards global trade liberalisation. It will then give an account of the theories relating trade openness and growth and finish by critiquing the most well-known literature on this subject. OVERVIEW OF TRENDS AND PATTERNS IN THE MOVE TOWARDS GLOBAL TRADE LIBERALISATION The trend towards global trade liberalisation began in the 19th century, when reductions in transport and communication costs spurred trade. This continued through the Second World War (WWII), when economic agreements, such as Bretton Woods and The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), were formed in its aftermath which included the liberalisation of capital and goods markets and the reduction in tariffs. From 1947 to 1967, GATT negotiations reduced tariffs on all dutiab... ... middle of paper ... ...oned whether comparative advantage is actually relevant today with low transportation and communication costs and barriers. Other studies link growth with geography and institutions, though it is extremely difficult to untangle the causality problem here, as geography is the only endogenous factor. While there is no consensus on the precise relationship between trade openness and growth, it seems that most can agree that trade protection is not good for economic growth. Even liberalisation sceptics state that there is no credible evidence to support the idea that trade protection is beneficial for economic growth. Another conclusion that can be drawn is that trade openness in itself is not sufficient for economic growth. This does not necessarily imply that openness has zero impact on growth, since researchers are yet to establish a sufficient proxy for openness.
The United States has for over two centuries been involved in the growing world economy. While the U.S. post revolutionary war sought to protect itself from outside influences has since the great depression and world war two looked to break trade restrictions. The United States role in the global economy has grown throughout the 20th century and as a result of several historical events has adopted positions of both benefactor and dependent. The United States trade policy has over time shifted from isolationist protectionism to a commitment to establishing world-wide free trade. Free trade enterprise has developed and grown through organizations such as the WTO and NAFTA. The U.S. in order to obtain its free trade desires has implemented a number of policies that can be examined for both their benefits and flaws. Several trade policies exist as options to the United States, among these fair trade and free trade policies dominate the world economic market. In order to achieve economic growth the United States has a duty to maintain a global trade policy that benefits both domestic workers and industry. While free trade gives opportunities to large industries and wealthy corporate investors the American worker suffers job instability and lower wages. However fair trade policies that protect America’s workers do not help foster wide economic growth. The United States must then engage in economic trade policies that both protect the United States founding principles and secure for tomorrow greater economic stability.
As Ian Fletcher pointed out in Free Trade Doesn’t Work: What Should Replace it And Why, nations need a well-chosen balance between openness and closure toward the larger world economy (Fletc...
Krugman writes that in the decade preceding his article “Is Free Trade Passé?” international trade theory underwent radical change from the traditions of constant returns and perfect competition to include new models emphasizing increasing returns and imperfect competition (1987, p. 131). Comparative advantage is no longer accepted as a means to explain in totality what actually happens in trade, and extraneous factors indicate that free trade may not be in the best interest of individual nations. Krugman answers the question posed in the article title by saying that free trade it is not passé, but it is better used as a guiding principle rather than a standard rule. This paper will review the theories that challenge the assumptions of constant returns and perfect competition, as well as discuss the implications for classical trade optimism and trade policy and practice.
Terborgh, Andrew. "The Post-War Rise of World Trade: Does the Bretton Woods System Deserve Credit?” Department of Economic History, London School of Economics. Sept. 2003: p. 1-73.Web. 13 Apr. 2014. .
Economic growth focuses on encouraging firms to invest or encouraging people to save, which in turn creates funds for firms to invest. It runs hand-in-hand with the goal of high employment because in order for firms to be comfortable investing in assets such as plants and equipment, unemployment must be low. Hereby, the people and resources will be available to spur economic growth.
Haddad, M., Shepherd, B., & World Bank. (2011). Managing openness: Trade and outward-oriented growth after the crisis. Washington, D.C: World Bank.
The political force moved away from the painstakingly and time-consuming technique of multilateral tariff negotiations to smaller regional and bilateral provisions - the Regional Trade Agreement. In these arrangements; members accord preferential treatment , basically agreeing to liberalize the exchange of goods and services amongst each another giving regard to certain trade barriers. RTA is not the first-hand way of trade liberalization though. Initially, when multilateral trade discussions used to happen, two-sided and multiparty FTA”s filled the vacuum. There were restrictions from stringent and premeditated trade arrangements earlier, thus a lot of states are now moving towards freer trade for their own benefits.
Firstly, what should be noted here is that international trade has been providing different benefits for firms as they may expand in different new markets and raise productivity by adopting different approaches. Given that nowadays marketplace is more dynamic and characterized by an interdependent economy, the volume of international trade has grown substantially in recent years, reducing the barriers to international trade. However, after experiencing the economic crisis that took its toll in 2008 many countries adopted a different approach in terms of trade barriers by introducing higher tariffs in order to protect domestic firms from foreign competition (Hill). Secondly, in order to better understand the implications of the political arguments for trade it is essential to highlight the main instruments of trade policy (See appendix 1).
After the failed International Trade Organization, Rodrik discusses the Bretton Woods Agreement, the transition from the General Agreement on Tariffs and T...
Trade is more than the exchange of goods and services; it sows the seeds for growth, development and provides the knowledge and experience that makes development possible (Cho, 1995). Trade is considered one of the main driving forces behind economic growth and poverty reduction, especially in Africa (Fosu and Mold, 2008). Adam Smith’s 1776 theory of absolute advantage states that a trading nation can gain by specialising in the production of the commodity of its absolute advantage and exchanging part of this output with other trading partners for the commodities of its absolute disadvantage (Llorah, 2008). This process enables countries to extend beyond their borders, allowing greater specialisation in production, enhanced effectiveness in use of thin resources, the growth of national income, the capacity to accumulate independent wealth and enhances the growth of the economy (Cho, 1995). According to DFID’s report, Trade Matters, other positive derivatives include raised employment, increased household income and the chance for people to earn their way out of poverty, independent of aid (DFID, 2005). The role of trade, while strongly advocated, is still highly debated (Collins and Graham, 2004; Madeley, 2000) and many recent studies question the positive role of economic growth on open trade (Bene, 2009). The extensive arguments surrounding this controversial discussion empirically highlight the difficulty in isolating the effect of trade liberalisation on economic growth, although it is clear that it does, and will continue to have, an important role in poverty alleviation.
Since liberalization, there has been an increase in India’s foreign trade. India’s rate of economic growth grew to about 6 percent in 2001 ( ). After trade liberalization, India has experienced a positive growth. The liberalization of trade policy led to a contributing factor to India’s economic growth. The trade in goods and services increased from 16 percent in 2001 to 47 percent in 2010 ( ). India exports about 1.44 percent and imports 2.12 percent for merchandise trade and services globally ( OECD). It major trade partners are U.S., China, European Union and United Arab Emirates. In 2010, it exports increased to $14 billion and imports increased to $20 billion and for the same year, it trade deficit dropped signific...
Tussie, D., & Aggio, C. (n.d.). Economic and social impacts of trade liberalization. Retrieved from http://www.unctad.info/upload/TAB/docs/TechCooperation/fullreport-version14nov-p106-119.pdf
Economic growth is one of the most important fields in economics. In current generation economic is developing well. Economic growth is really important to country and for the world as well. Economic are one of the identity for country because it shows a country development and attraction for other countries (F, Peter. 2014). For example well economic develop such as Singapore, Dubai, New York, and Japan. These countries are well develop and maintaining their economic growths. Economic growths are really important because higher average incomes enables consumers to enjoy more goods and services. Then, lower unemployment with higher output and positive economic growth firms tend to utilize more workers creating more employment. Enhanced public
Trade creation occurs when low cost producers within free trade area replace high cost domestic producers. These agreements create more opportunities for countries to trade with one another by removing the trade barriers and investment. Trade creation allows member countries for a wider selection of goods and services not previously available. They can acquire goods and services at a lower cost after trade barriers due to lowered tariffs or removal of tariffs which will encourage more trade between member countries the balance of money spend from cheaper goods and services, can be used to buy more products and services. Regional economic integration significantly contributes to the relatively high growth rates in the nation. By removing trade barriers between members countries the factor of production can be move
During the twentieth century, the world began to develop the idea of economic trade. Beginning in the 1960’s, the four Asian Tigers, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, demonstrated that a global economy, which was fueled by an import and export system with other countries, allowed the economy of the home country itself to flourish. Th...