Human development and trade openness : a case study on developing countries

According to the international trade theory, open market oriented industries, sectors or economies are more effective in allocating production factors among economics actors than the relatively closed ones. However; it is wondered whether being open market oriented is good for societies as a whole. Therefore, this study uses panel data analysis in order to examine the effects of trade openness with control variables on the living standards of medium high income level countries. For life standards indicators, human development index (HDI) was taken into account. Data were obtained from World Bank and data set covers the years between 1995 and 2010. In conclusion, the present study found positive effect of openness on living standards.