Regional trade agreements or broad liberalization: Which path leads to faster growth?

Should a closed economy open its trade to all countries or limit itself to participation in regional trade agreements (RTAs)? Based on time-series evi dence for a data set for 1950-92, this paper estimates and compares the gro wth performance of countries that liberalized broadly and that of those tha t joined an RTA. The comparisons show that economies grew faster after broa d liberalization, irt both the short and the long nln, but slower after par ticipation in an RTA. Economies also had higher investment shares after bro ad liberalization, but lower ones after joining art RTA. The policy implica tions support broad liberalization. [JEL F43].