Trade Liberalisation And The Poverty Of Nations

This is a meticulously researched and well written book on a subject of immense contemporary academic and policy interest. Prema-chandra Athukorala, Journal of Development Studies The book is a valuable contribution to the analysis of the links between trade liberalisation, poverty and inequality . . . The book is a coherent piece of work offering an abundance of well-researched and argued information, effectively establishing it as a notable contribution to the investigation and understanding of this very important field. Therefore this book is highly recommended as an important publication for everyone interested in this field as it is a powerful guide to the complex questions that emerge when dealing with the issues of trade liberalisation and poverty elimination at international level. Marios Koutsias, International Trade Law and Regulation Thirlwall and Pacheco-López s book makes its contribution by serving as a clearly written synthesis of a diversity of literatures on trade liberalization and its impacts on growth, inequality and wages, and poverty. . . . the book is an excellent one. It should be a required reading companion to any graduate-level trade course. Kevin P. Gallagher, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities This book breaks out of the standard distinction between free trade and protectionism , and shows how to think constructively about trade policy as an instrument of national economic strategy. It is highly recommended for those who wish to think beyond orthodoxy, and especially for those in developing countries who wish to influence negotiations with developed countries and western-based international organisations. Robert Wade, London School of Economics, UK This is a gem of a book. Based on deep understanding of diverse economic theories and empirical evidence, it offers us a succinct but highly informative overview of the controversies surrounding the impact of trade policy on growth, inequality, and macroeconomics. Ha-Joon Chang, University of Cambridge, UK, and author of Kicking Away the Ladder, and Bad Samaritans Free-trade fundamentalism is gradually making way for a more nuanced and historically well-informed understanding of the role that trade policy plays in economic development. Thirlwall and Pacheco-López provide an excellent review of the relevant literature as well as a sophisticated critique of the earlier, simplistic views. As they explain, it is the details the timing, sequencing, and context that determine whether liberalization will succeed. Dani Rodrik, Harvard University, US This book will infuriate the free trade ultras who believe that liberalisation is the answer to every problem and a good thing too. The real world, as Thirlwall and Pacheco-López show clearly and vividly, is different from the world of theoretical models so beloved by today s economic orthodoxy, and they take delight in tweaking the noses of the Washington consensus. History suggests they are right to argue that managed trade is better for developing countries than swallowing large doses of free-trade medicine. Larry Elliott, The Guardian Orthodox trade and growth theory, and the world s multilateral development institutions, extol the virtues of trade liberalisation and free trade for more rapid economic development of poor countries. However, the contemporary reality and history seem to tell a different story. The world economy has experienced an unprecedented period of trade liberalisation in the last thirty years, and yet international and global inequality is widening; domestic poverty (outside of China) is increasing; poor countries exports have grown more slowly than their imports leading to balance of payments crises, and the so-called globalising economies of the world (excluding China and India) have fared no better, and in some cases worse, than those countries that have not liberalised so extensively. This book argues that orthodox theory is based on many unreal assumptions,

This thoughtful volume assesses the likely impact of reformed trade policies on the poorest of the poor—those on the bottom economic rungs in developing nations. The focus on a spectrum of poor nations across different regions provides some helpful and hopeful guidelines regarding the likely impacts of a global trade reform, agreed upon under the auspices of the World Trade Organization, as well as the impact of such reforms on economic development. In order to facilitate lesson-drawing across different regions, each country study utilizes a similar methodology. They combine information on trade policy at the product level with income and consumption data at the household level, thus capturing effects both on the macro level and in individual households where development policies ideally should improve day-to-day life. This uniformity of research approach across the country studies allows for a deeper and more robust comparison of results.

Openness to trade is a key element of economic policy; continuing extreme poverty in developing countries is a disgrace. This Handbook examines how concerns about the world's poor should affect our attitude towards trade liberalization. Part I draws on economic analysis and practical experience to construct a framework to analyse the links between trade liberalization and poverty. It shows policy-makers how to identify the critical features in their economies so they can ensure that the poor benefit from liberalization. Part II explores the reform of particular sectors -- agriculture, services, etc., and particular instruments of trade policy -- export subsidies, anti-dumping measures, etc. It presents an economic analysis of each type of reform, shows the likely outcome for the poor, and discusses the issue's status on the World Trade Organization's agenda. Book jacket.

This book uses Alan Winters’ analytical framework to investigate the effects of trade liberalisation on economic growth and poverty in Vietnam. The country launched a programme of economic and trade reforms, known as Doi Moi, in the mid-1980s which placed the economy on a transitional path from central planning to a market economy. Since then Vietnam has attained a number of remarkable achievements in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction. Although some formidable problems (such as inequality and inflation) remain, it is apparent that trade liberalisation has been associated with a big reduction in poverty. The analysis in the book focuses on the microeconomic (household) level, and there is an emphasis on tracing the effects of trade liberalisation through the four separate channels identified by Winters. Such in-depth and micro-level analyses yield new insights that support important policy lessons and recommendations for Vietnam in particular and, more generally, for similar developing countries.

Free trade can help 500 million people escape poverty and inject.

This publication sets out an empirical analysis of the impact of economic liberalisation and globalisation on inequality, poverty and development, including recent trends in economic growth, income distribution and global inequalities, and the comparative experiences of countries that have pursued different economic policies.

The link between trade liberalisation and poverty has arguably been one of the most debated topics in development policy debate. Existing studies on the subject have primarily used multi-country cross-sectional data, and there is a growing concern about the limitations of this approach in providing a sound empirical basis for informing the policy debate. These limitations point to the need for undertaking in-depth analyses within individual countries over time. In order to examine the connection between trade liberalisation and poverty, this book provides case studies of trade policy reforms and poverty reduction outcomes of seven countries in South Asia - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The South Asia region allows for an excellent comparative study given the widespread emphasis on liberalisation reforms in the region over the past two decades, as well as highlighting significant inter-country differences in terms of the timing and comprehensiveness of reforms, and the heavy concentration of world poverty in the region. This book is a useful contribution to studies on South Asia, as well as International Trade and Development Economics.

Agricultural trade liberalization has been resisted by many developing-country policymakers, including those in the Middle East and North Africa, for fear it could hurt domestic farmers and exacerbate poverty. The authors of Trade Liberalization and Poverty in the Middle East and North Africa argue, however, that this concern about liberalization might be misplaced. Drawing on case studies from Egypt, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia, the study uses household survey data and computable general equilibrium models to simulate the effects of various liberalization scenarios on different types of households in these countries, especially poor households. The results indicate that agricultural trade barriers are not an effective means of protecting the poor and that the benefits from many forms of agricultural trade liberalization to the region's consumers outweigh the costs to producers. If complemented with other domestic programs-including agricultural research and extension, information services, disease control, and social safety nets-the reforms have the potential to reduce poverty in these nations. The study findings are a valuable resource for policymakers and development specialists evaluating the role trade liberalization can play in economic development and poverty reduction.