This volume reviews the experiences of fourteen Latin American, Asian and African countries with trade policy and industrialization in the 1970s and 1980s. Examining how trade policy has been used to promote economic growth in developing countries, the essays employ current theory and empirical methodology to re-examine old controversies. The contributors find that trade policy did not play a major role in growth and development experiences during the last two decades, and that import substitution was a limited and industry-specific phenomenon while industrial growth emanated primarily from exports and expanding domestic demand.

The contributors conclude that there are many routes to industrial expansion and that no universal trade policy prescription exists to generate improved economic performance in all developing countries. Building on earlier theoretical and empirical research on trade policy, this volume is the first comprehensive review of developing country experiences in this area.