무역의 개방도와 경제성장

Threshold Effects of Trade Openness on Economic Growth

We revisit the relationship between trade openness and economic growth using the panel threshold regression model. We find that the relationship is not linear at the threshold point: A negative relationship is found in a Jess developed economy below the threshold, but a positive relationship in a more developed economy above the threshold. It may imply that the economy has a critical point that the benefit of trade openness surpasses the negative effect of trade openness. This article employs the panel threshold regression model to endogenously determine an optimal level of the threshold in the econometric model when samples are classified into different groups. Using this model, we attempt to test whether the relationship between trade openness and economic growth varies with the threshold level of the real GDP per capita.