Trade policies and productivity change in semi-industrialized countries

Abstract

The role of trade policies in increasing growth and efficiency has long been a major focus in the development literature. This paper examines the impact of different development strategies, especially export expansion and import substitution trade policies, on total factor productivity growth in the manufacturing industries. The analysis is based on recently developed data on sectoral total factor productivity in Korea, Turkey, and Yugoslavia, with Japan as a comparator. Our results indicate that there are important links between trade policies and industrial productivity performance.