Export-led growth hypothesis: a meta-analysis

There is a generally held belief that an expansion of the exports sector in a country would usually lead to an improved economic growth. However, a survey of the literature indicates that a great variety of techniques, data sets and country groups have been employed in empirical assessments of the export-led growth hypothesis, with an equally broad variety of results. In this regard, the essence of the present study is to determine what factors impact on the export-growth relationship using a study of 82 studies which yields 447 observations. Results from the counting analysis and the meta-regression analysis show that economies with a low development level benefit less from exports as a driver of economic growth.