Trade policies have a substantial impact on economic development. S. Urata introduces seven studies in this issue of the journal that examine quantitatively the effect of the liberalization of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) on productivity in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia,...

Competitive pressure on firms and the ability of firms to increase productivity are important factors determining total factor productivity (TFP) growth. Focusing on the effect of trade policies on TFP growth, the authors explore empirically the determinants of TFP growth for Thai manufacturing...