infonet-economy

In recent years the benefits of WTO membership has been called into question, notably in the context of discussions on WTO accessions. Previously it was widely thought that better access to the markets of existing WTO members was the quid pro quo for adopting commitments to reform domestic policies, including border measures. Here we revisit this matter and do so by focusing on the accessions to the WTO and its predecessor the GATT of four nations: Angola, Bulgaria, Ecuador, and Jordan. For each country, first, we go to considerable length to establish the factual record concerning the evolution of each nation's trade flows and their recent macroeconomic performance. Then, using two methodologies, we examine whether national exports and imports responded positively after accession.