Tariff Uniformity and Growth

Abstract

Theoretical ambiguity exists regarding the potential benefits of adopting a uniform tariff schedule. In this paper, we investigate the empirical evidence on this question. From cross-country growth regressions over the period 1988-97 we find a nonlinear relationship between a country's standard deviation of tariffs and its growth rate. Specifically, we find that countries with either a large degree of tariff uniformity or very little tariff uniformity tended to grow faster over this time period, controlling for other factors.Economic Growth, Trade Policy, Tarif Uniformity,