Empirical evidence on the relation between openness to trade and economic growth remains to be inconclusive;
the literature is full of mixed findings. Studies such as Bahmani-Oskooee & Niroomand (1999) or Edwards (1992)
suggest a positive impact of openness to trade on economic growth, while others found no significant impact of
openness on growth (see, Levine et al. 1992, Harrison & Hanson, 1999). In a recent study focusing on the
relationship between openness and growth in 34 African countries for the period between 1960 and 2003, Vlastou
(2010) found evidence that openness to trade has a negative impact on growth. Vlastou (2010) further found that the
causality runs from openness to growth, and not in the opposite direction.