Evidence supports the notion that nations
more open to trade tend to be richer than
nations that are less open to trade. As Columbia
University economist Arvind Panagariya puts it:
“On the poverty front, there is overwhelming
evidence that trade openness is a more trustworthy
friend of the poor than protectionism.
Few countries have grown rapidly without a
simultaneous rapid expansion of trade. In turn,
rapid growth has almost always led to reduction
in poverty.”2