JORDAN WTO ACCESSION: A QUANTITATIVE INVESTIGATION AND ESTIMATION OF A GRAVITY MODEL 1994-2009

In light of Jordan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2000, this paper explores the impact of this accession on trade flows to investigate whether and how WTO accession facilitates trade growth by applying a standard gravity model. Interestingly, our results on the WTO’s impact on trade are exactly in line with what they should be. The gravity model fits the data well. The results explain how Jordan’s WTO accession- among other changes in Jordan's trade policy, enhanced Jordan trade by creating commitment to the multilateral trade agreements which in turn results in increasing Jordan trade with countries all over the world.