Significant growth rates are in many times associated with countries embracing the ongoing globalization and openness to the international market of exchanging goods and services as well as ideas and technologies. Many researchers believe that participating in an international economy is a primary source of growth. The question is how strong the relationship between openness and growth is and has interested many researchers. This paper aims to investigate the effects of trade openness on economic growth in the long run and begins from Adam smith`s discussion on absolute advantage and specialization to discussions on trade organizations and policies. This study explores the relationship between trade openness and economic growth using a sample of 3 developed countries over the period (1970 – 2006) in a panel data analysis. The fixed effects model analysis indicates that trade openness has a positive and significant effect on economic growth.

The present thesis tries to argue the importance of non monetary factors in explaining real exchange rate volatility. The main interest is on the effect of trade openness on real effec-tive exchange rate (REER) volatility. Based on theoretical studies I test the existence of a negative relationship between total trade share of an economy and the volatility of REER. Empirical evidence on a panel of 11 CEE and Baltic Countries for the 1995-2006 period confirms the relationship. The conclusion is that for these specific countries a large part of variation of the real exchange rate can be explained by openness of the respective economy to trade.

This bachelor thesis in economics examines the Asian financial crisis, the impact on the countries in the region and how well they recovered financially. The countries that are taken into consideration are Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.  The variables used to explain the implications of the crisis are GDP, trade openness, unemployment and current account. Descriptive statistics show that the most closed economy that was affected by a current account reversal was also the hardest hit in terms of GDP.  The statistics also show that all the countries under observation have recovered to their situation prior to the crisis in terms of GDP, but not in terms of the level of unemployment. Two regressions that were performed showed the relation between trade openness and the effect of GDP after the crisis, and the relation of trade openness to growth after the crisis. The regressions show that the more closed an economy is the larger the effect of a crisis. At the same time these countries had the highest growth rates after the crisis and were also among the first to recover. Theoretical reasons for these results are given.

<p>This bachelor thesis in economics examines the Asian financial crisis, the impact on the countries in the region and how well they recovered financially. The countries that are taken into consideration are Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.  The variables used to explain the implications of the crisis are GDP, trade openness, unemployment and current account.</p><p>Descriptive statistics show that the most closed economy that was affected by a current account reversal was also the hardest hit in terms of GDP.  The statistics also show that all the countries under observation have recovered to their situation prior to the crisis in terms of GDP, but not in terms of the level of unemployment.</p><p>Two regressions that were performed showed the relation between trade openness and the effect of GDP after the crisis, and the relation of trade openness to growth after the crisis. The regressions show that the more closed an economy is the larger the effect of a crisis. At the same time these countries had the highest growth rates after the crisis and were also among the first to recover. Theoretical reasons for these results are given.</p>

Le commerce mondial joue un rôle de plus en plus important dans les évolutions économiques des pays ainsi que le montre l’apparition du concept de mondialisation. L’avènement des crises économiques modifie le contenu des relations commerciales. Quelques aspects de la libéralisation commerciale et de l’intégration économique des pays sont étudiés ici ; on a envisagé leurs évolutions en prenant en considération les crises. Le commerce international est étudié théoriquement et empiriquement ; la partie théorique (premier chapitre) concerne les définitions générales, les concepts et l’histoire du commerce et de la mondialisation, les analyses empiriques (deuxième et troisième chapitres) sont relatives à cinq pays européens (France, Grèce, Portugal, Slovénie, Espagne) du point de vue de leurs situations commerciales et économiques, ainsi que des effets de la crise sur eux. On a d’abord mesuré les niveaux d’ouverture commerciale et d’intégration financière de ces pays, puis on a précisé l’effet de la crise sur leur niveau d’intégration. Le lien entre les déficits intérieur et extérieur des pays a été étudié, une première fois avec l’analyse simultanée de l’impact de l’investissement sur les deux déficits, une deuxième fois par l’analyse des effets du taux de change, du taux de chômage et de la dette publique sur eux. A l’aide de ces analyses, on a pu vérifier que les activités commerciales et financières internationales des pays jouent un rôle significatif dans la propagation d’une crise extérieure à un pays donné. / The world trade plays an increasingly important role in countries’ economic evolutions as it has been demonstrated by appearance of the concept of globalization. The occurrence of economic crises modifies the content of commercial relationships. Some aspects of trade liberalization and economic integration of countries are studied here and we have considered their evolutions with respect to the crises. The international trade is studied theoretically and empirically. The theoretical part (first chapter) concerns general definitions, concepts and history of trade and globalization. The empirical analyses (second and third chapters) are related to five European countries (France, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) and consider their commercial and economic situations, as well as the effects of crises on them. We have firstly measured the levels of trade openness and financial integration of these countries and then we have specified the effect of the worldwide crisis on their integration level. The linkage between countries’ domestic and foreign deficits has been studied; firstly with a simultaneous analysis of investment impact on the two deficits, and secondly by the analysis of the effects of the variations of exchange rate, unemployment rate and public debt on them. Using these analyses we were able to verify that the countries’ international commercial and financial activities play a significant role in spreading a foreign crisis to a given country.

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The research focuses on understanding the gap between trade openness and food security complexity. Existing literature has examined trade openness's effect on food security indicators and stated that it has a positive impact. However, this is the first study that has examined this relationship holistically. Food insecurity is at its worst in Africa, and the continent is highly dependent on trade. Hence, the paper aims to investigate if trade openness impacts food security overall in Africa, using the Global Food Security Index as a proxy indicator. It also examines whether the individual four dimensions of food security are impacted. The research conducts a quantitative analysis with secondary panel data to fulfill this objective. The data span from 2012 to 2021, and 23 African countries were included. The paper employs The Newey–West estimator with OLS to address existing autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity in the data. In this study, globalization was added as a substitute for trade openness to improve the robustness of the trade openness impact on the Global Food Security Index in a separate model. The results reveal that trade openness does not significantly relate to Food security overall or in specific dimensions. Globalization, on the other hand, has a positive impact on food security overall and in three out of the four dimensions. The result suggests that globalization is Africa's primary driver of food security rather than trade openness.

According to the numerical data from the past three decades, income inequality remains a significant challenge on a global scale, irrespective of the countries’ development status. Even though the global economy has experienced growth, income inequalities have not decreased correspondingly. Global integration, international commerce, economic expansions, and changes in labor market dynamics all together participate in the process of shaping economic inequalities. The thesis investigates the impact of various macroeconomic indicators on income inequality and attempts to identify evidence for the bell-shaped Kuznets curve. Fixed- and random-effects models are utilized for the analysis, in which balanced panel data from 52 high- and middle-income countries covering the period 1998 through 2020 are considered. The results of our study identify a U-turned relationship between GDP per capita and income inequality, which does not support the Kuznets hypothesis. Furthermore, we also identified that higher average educational levels reduce income inequality, while international commerce and higher unemployment rates increase it.

Thesis (M. Com. (Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Investment as one of the main macroeconomic variables can ensure development of infrastructure and economic growth through increasing productivity and attracting investors. This study examined key determinants of investment activities by means of a comparative analysis between the SADC and BRICS groups during the period 2004- 2019. The key variables were the real exchange rate, real interest rate and trade openness. The analysis began by reporting unit roots tests, which paved way for employing Panel Autoregressive Distributive Lag (PARDL) methodology in the existence of different orders of integration. To estimate the long run relationship between the variables, we made use of the panel Johansen cointegration test, Pedroni test, Kao test and the Johansen Fisher cointegration test. Through the PARDL, the exchange rate and trade openness were found to be positive and statistically significant determinants of investment in SADC although statistically insignificant in the BRICS group. In addition, interest rates yielded insignificant results in the SADC region while, on the contrary, yielded a negative and statistically significant relationship in the BRICS group. The Granger causality test indicated a bi-directional causality in the exchange rate-investment and trade openness investment nexus for the SADC group while there was no causality in the BRICS group. It can be concluded that trade openness and exchange rate are key determinants of investment in the SADC region while interest rates are key in the BRICS group. It is therefore recommended that in order to attract investors and boost investment activities the SADC group need to focus more on exchange rate stability and trade openness while the BRICS group need to pay more attention to the flexibility of interest rates. This is beneficial on trading patterns, more for South Africa as it can be found in both groups.

O Brasil apresentou nas décadas de 80 e 90 taxas de crescimento econômico substancialmente inferiores às de outras economias emergentes. Apesar das taxas brasileiras terem se elevado a partir de 2004, tal mudança é, em parte, atribuída a uma conjuntura favorável, de altos preços das commodities. As novas teorias de crescimento econômico ressaltam a relevância do investimento em tecnologia para se alcançar um crescimento sustentável no longo prazo. No entanto, o desempenho brasileiro em investimento em P&D é relativamente baixo quando comparado ao de outros países. Teorias Schumpeterianas de crescimento e trabalhos sobre comércio internacional ressaltam a importância da criação de um ambiente favorável ao investimento em P&D, através do estimulo à competição industrial e empresarial que é criada com a abertura comercial. Sendo assim, o presente estudo pretende avaliar empiricamente o impacto da competição internacional sofrida pelas firmas brasileiras sobre suas decisões de investimento em P&D. Para isso, será construído um modelo relacionando as variáveis relevantes, e serão utilizadas técnicas econométricas, a partir de dados da PINTEC, PIA e outras bases de dados industriais. / Brazilian growth rates in the 80\'s and 90\'s were lower than in other emerging economies. The new theories of economic growth emphasize the relevance of investment in technology to achieve sustainable growth in the long term. However, Brazilian performance in R&D expenditures is relatively low compared to other countries. Schumpeterian growth theories and some studies on international trade emphasize the importance of creating an environment conducive to investment in R&D, through the stimulus to competition, which can be increased by trade openness. Therefore, this study aims to empirically assess the impact of international competition suffered by Brazilian firms on their R&D decisions. In order to achieve that, econometric techniques relating relevant variables will be used, with data from PINTEC, PIA and other industrial database.