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optimism. Export optimists consider trade to be an engine of growth and place much confidence in the role of prices to allocate resources efficiently. Countries or regions that are able to pete in their exports enhance their economic growth because this increases productivity and specialization, and improves efficiency through better resource allocation. Drawing on the principles of classical parative advantage as well as ventforsurplus and staple theories (see for example Myint 1958。 North 1955。 1961), export optimists point to the potential gams that arise as a result of trade. Export optimists explain the link between exports and economic growth in terms of supply factors such as natural resources, entrepreneurship, skilled labor, and institutions. Trade results m economic growth by expanding the supply of labor and capital, while technological advances raise the productivity of the factors of production(Riedel 1987). Outwardlooking trade strategies such as export promotion have been popularized on the premise that exports lead to rapid economic growth and development. Exports help to overe a country or region39。s limited market and provide an outlet for the surplus products that are not consumed domestically. Idle or surplus resources are absorbed into exportables which have the effect of stimulating economic growth (Myint 1958). Engaging in export producUOn therefore ensures greater capacity utilization through economies of scale {Balassa 1985). It has also been maintained that economies that are oriented towards exports produce a higher level of industrialization (Joint ECLA/UNIDO Industrial Development Division 1986) and generate higher quality products because of the exposure to international consumption patterns. Other pelling arguments include the need by developing countries to earn foreign exchange in order to finance imports for mdustriahzation(Esfahani 1991), as well as the deployment of abundant labor so that it leads to the growth of employment and wages (Krueger 1988). Export optimists support their position by drawing extensively from econometric studies relating economic growth to some indices of export performance under implicit assumptions of favorable supply conditions. Several of these studies concluded that economic performance is highly correlated to export growth (Balassa 1978。 1985。 Dodaro 1993。 Emery 1967。 Feder 1982。 Fosu 1990。 Kavoussi 1984。 Maizels 1968。 Michalopoulos and Jay 1973。 Rana 1988。 Syron and Walsh 1968。 Tyler 1981). The meteoric rise of the Asian newlyindustrializing countries (1VICs) has also been linked to their superex porting development strategy (Balassa 1988。 Hughes 1989。 Krueger 1985。 Riedel 1988). All these motivated the World Bank (1987。 1993) to endorse export promotion as the dominant development strategy for developing countries. Export pessimism. Export pessimists put less faith in the market, arguing that the ability of developing countries to export is constrained by the external market. They maintain that the hnk between exports and growth (abbreviated to exportsgrowth) weakened considerably during the oil crisis years of the 1970s due to a contraction in demand especially for LDC exports. Thus, trade enhances growth only when the external demand is favorable. Export pessimists advocate more inwardoriented strategies, namely import substitution, as the major development model. Import substitution was thought to be beneficial because it reduces a country39。s vulnerability to international economic crises (