Can international trade act as the sole engine of growth for an economy? If the answer is yes, what are the mechanisms through which trade operates in transmitting permanent growth? This paper answers these questions with two simple two-country models, in which only one country enjoys sustained growth in autarky. The models differ in the assumptions on technical change, which is either labour-or capitalaugmenting. In both cases, the stagnant economy imports growth by trading. In the first model, growth is transmitted because of permanent increases in the trade volume. In the second, the stagnant economy imports sustained growth because its terms of trade permanently improve.

This paper studies the role of trading partner' growth and a domestic import tariff in the possibility of growing through trade. To this purpose, a Ricardian model is developed in which a backward economy seeks to increase its long-run growth rate simply by trading with a faster growing partner. It is found that domestic growth may be either negatively affected or unaffected by a domestic import tariff, while it is always positively impacted by foreign growth. Furthermore, convergence in growth rate can emerge both with an import tariff and under free trade. Ours results are consistent with the empirical evidence.