Trade liberalization and income convergence: a comment

When examining the relationship between trade liberalization and income convergence across countries, it is important to distinguish between formal and actual periods of trade liberalization. Further-more, the degree of liberalization and the extent of trade between the liberalizing countries are important factors that influence the link between liberalization and convergence. Evidence suggests that postwar trade reforms in which major trade partners substantially reduced barriers on trade with one another culminated in income convergence between the trade-liberalizing countries. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.