William Cline estimates that full trade liberalization
would result in 20 percent poverty
reduction across the world. According to
Cline, out of approximately 2.75 billion people
living on less than US $2 per day, 540 million
could be brought out of poverty by 2015.
However, he warns, “a greater share of poverty
reduction . . . [would be] found in Asia, and
lesser shares in sub-Saharan Africa.” Asia and
SSA are the two poorest regions in the world,
yet according to Cline’s study, Asia would
reduce its poor population by 23 percent,
whereas SSA would reduce its poor by only
by 12 percent.77