Free Trade Necessary for Economic Growth

Market-friendly, liberalizing policies help facilitate
growth. If any single measure signals that policies are moving in the right
direction, it is the growth rate of a country's exports.

In almost every successful economic growth episode, exports
grow faster than GDP, and usually much faster, even after adjusting for price
inflation. This can be shown by examining 59 high-growth episodes that occurred
in 41 countries from 1960 to 2001.

Overall:

•         
  Exports grew over 2 percentage points faster in
  37 cases and faster by over 4 percentage points in 21 of the 59 cases.
•        
  Exports grew faster by 5 percentage points or
  more in 18 of the 59 cases.