Economic Development and International Trade: An Introduction

Abstract

Over the post-war period an extraordinary expansion of world trade has occurred. Between 1950 and 1985 world exports increased thirtyfold in value terms and ninefold in volume terms. The factors behind this growth are well explained elsewhere (see, for instance, Blackhurst et al., 1977, 1978) and need not concern us here. From our present standpoint the simple fact that world trade has increased over the post-war period is important, all the more so because the growth of trade which has occurred has consistently outstripped the growth of output. Table 1.1 illustrates this point. This means that, on average, countries have been becoming more open in the sense that exports have accounted for an increasing proportion of national income. As a result, countries have increasingly found their welfare to be susceptible to shocks transmitted through the traded goods sector.