The 'Export Effect' and Economic Growth

This Paper Develops the Proposition That a Once for All Improvement in the Level of Productivity and Growth Is a Direct and Indirect Result of Increased Exports and Imports, Especially in the Manufacturing Sector, But That Sustainable Increased Growth Requires Industrial Diversification the Canadian Growth Process Is Analysed Along These Lines Within the General Framework of the Intra-Industry Trade Model. the Data Indicate Th That Past Trade Liberalizations Have Pushed Canadian Industry Towards Intra-Industry Specialization. the Static and Dynamic Economies of Scale Production Derived From Trade and Specialization Are Then Investigated Both From a Supply Approach and From a Structural Demand Approach. During the 1966-1983 Period, the Rate of Growth of Exports Has Stimulated the Overall Rate of Economic Growth in In 19 Oecd Countries by As Much As the Rate of Capital Accumulation. Moreover, the Impact of Manufactured Exports Has Been Twice As Large As Total Exports. the Importance of Exports in the Growth Process Is Than Analysed Within a Balance of Payments Constraint Model. All Actual Growth Rates, Except Two, Have Remained Within the Constraint. the Policy Implications of the Results Point Towards the Desirability of Intra-Industry Trade Adjustments and Two-Way Trade.