Abstract
At the end of the last century, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea attained higher rates of economic growth than other developing countries. It could be because of a close correlation between export expansion and economic growth, but are they automatically associated? What is the importance played by trade in the economic development of these countries? Classical view says that the growth of trade brings an economic growth, but maybe there is not relevant link between trade and growth. In this paper we will critically assess the role of the trade expansion in the economic growth and development. In a first part we will criticize the linkage between export growth and economy, after we will assess the trade policies on industrialization and development. The third and last part will evaluate the impact of trade on other indicators of development such as the ones which compose the Human Development Indicator.
