TY - BOOK ID - 84783228 TI - Does A Regional Trade Agreement Lessen or Exacerbate Growth Volatility? An Empirical Investigation AU - Kpodar, Kangni. AU - Imam, Patrick. PY - 2015 SN - 1513565354 1513540386 1513560956 PB - Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, DB - UniCat KW - Trade blocs. KW - Economic development. KW - International trade. KW - External trade KW - Foreign commerce KW - Foreign trade KW - Global commerce KW - Global trade KW - Trade, International KW - World trade KW - Commerce KW - International economic relations KW - Non-traded goods KW - Development, Economic KW - Economic growth KW - Growth, Economic KW - Economic policy KW - Economics KW - Statics and dynamics (Social sciences) KW - Development economics KW - Resource curse KW - Regional economic blocs KW - Regional trading blocs KW - Trading blocs KW - International trade KW - Exports and Imports KW - Trade Policy KW - International Trade Organizations KW - Economic Integration KW - Economic Growth of Open Economies KW - Trade: General KW - Empirical Studies of Trade KW - International economics KW - Regional trade KW - Exports KW - Imports KW - Trade agreements KW - Terms of trade KW - Commercial treaties KW - nternational cooperation KW - Montenegro KW - Nternational cooperation UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:84783228 AB - This paper assesses how regional trade agreements (RTAs) impact growth volatility on a worldwide sample of 170 countries with data spanning the period 1978-2012. Notwithstanding concerns that trade openness through RTAs can heighten exposure to shocks, in particular when it leads to increased product specialization, RTAs through enhanced policy credibility, improved policy coordination, and reduced risk of conflicts can ease growth volatility. Empirical estimations suggest the benefits outweigh the costs as RTAs are consistently associated with lower growth volatility, after controlling for trade openness and other determinants of growth volatility. Furthermore, regression results also suggest that countries that are more prone to shocks are more likely to join a RTA, in particular with countries with relatively less volatile growth, additionally enhancing the stabilization effect. ER -