The Effect of World Bank Trade Adjustment Assistance on Trade and Growth, 1987-2004: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
Posted: 13 Oct 2015
Abstract
This paper studies the association between trade reform, growth, and trade adjustment assistance in a sample of developing countries that underwent trade reforms during 1987-2004. Our analysis explicitly differentiates between a group of countries that received trade adjustment loans from the World Bank and a non-recipient group. The results suggest that trade adjustment assistance is positively associated with economic growth after trade reform in the medium to long run. In comparison to a pre-reform period and to the non-recipient group, the recipient countries registered 0.2 percent higher growth of real GDP per capita, 5.0 percent higher import growth, and 2.5 percent higher export growth over a period of three to five years after trade reform.
Keywords: International financial institutions, Trade reform, Sample selection
JEL Classification: E02, F13, O24
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation