TITLE:
Trade Liberalisation and the Reduction of Poverty—A Revisit
AUTHORS:
Papraowmas Turongpun
KEYWORDS:
Trade Liberalisation, Poverty Reduction, WTO
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.12,
November
29,
2022
ABSTRACT: The objective of this article is to revive the
ongoing debate of whether trade liberalisation contributes to poverty
reduction. This article considers case studies from East Asia and Latin America
to demonstrate the varied effects of trade. Whilst structural instability and
the Dutch disease phenomenon hindered trade liberalisation gains in Latin
America, on the other hand, diversified economic structure and greater
macro-economic stability allowed East Asia to reap the benefits of open trade,
to its advantage. In effect, liberalisation does not have an overwhelming
reduction in poverty. Although the long-term effects are positive and
significant, there are many costs and factors that may hinder the success of
liberalisation. A set of guidelines and the country’s readiness are required.