Trade

Task Force Chairs

  • José Antonio Ocampo
    Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University and former Minister of Finance of Colombia
    Columbia University
  • Dani Rodrik
    Rafiq Hariri Professor of International Political Economy
    John F. Kennedy School of Government
    Harvard University

Conventional wisdom has held that trade liberalization leads to increased economic growth, but this idea is often misleading. Liberalization has frequently failed to trigger economic growth when implemented in contexts without adequate institutional foundations. However, historical experience can provide some insight into when and how trade liberalization can best benefit developing countries, and when it is inadvisable altogether. IPD’s Trade Task Force lays out the crucial issues in trade policy for developing countries in a non-partisan, policy-relevant manner. The Task Force examines the successes and failures of trade liberalization in order to develop new knowledge and policy responses to this complex issue.

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Latest Publications

Conventional wisdom has held that trade liberalization leads to increased economic growth, but this idea is often misleading. Liberalization has frequently failed to trigger economic growth when implemented in contexts without adequate institutional foundations. Moreover, trade liberalization has also been linked to increased levels of poverty and inequality, especially within the least developed countries. However, historical experience can provide some insight into when and how trade liberalization can best benefit developing countries, and when it is inadvisable altogether.

IPD’s Trade Task Force lays out the crucial issues in trade policy for developing countries in a non-partisan, policy-relevant manner. The Task Force examines the successes and failures of trade liberalization in order to develop new knowledge and policy responses to this complex issue.