All of these same benefits can to some extent also be achieved by trade with
foreign countries. Increased openness to trade has a substantial effect on real growth.
Some countries are fortunate enough to be geographically located so as to make trade
easy -- for example in the heart of Europe. Others are less blessed by geography --
examples include New Zealand, which is remote, and Chad, which is landlocked. But
even a country that is unlucky geographically can promote trade, by removing tariffs and
other barriers. According to econometric analysis, joining a Free Trade Area eventually
triples trade with one’s partners, as does adopting a common currency. For a country like
Poland joining the EU would mean eventually doubling its overall openness to trade.
This in turn would raise Poland’s income per capita by an estimated 20% over the
subsequent 20 years. The estimated benefit of having joined the EU or EMU is
comparable for Austria.