Trade liberalisation and trade performance in the Dominican Republic

Abstract

During the 1990s the Dominican Republic managed its transition to a more open trade regime by eliminating non-tariff barriers, simplifying the tariff structure and reducting the rates of duties. Using this information the study examines trade liberalisation's impact on the Dominican Republic's trade dynamics. It finds that import and export growth increased as a result of liberalisation, even though exports' response is somewhat higher. Moreover, the paper estimates a one percentage point improvement in the trade balance to GDP ratio following liberalisation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.