This paper critically examines the empirical literature on the relationship between trade policy and economic growth, questioning the consensus that lower trade barriers lead to faster economic growth. The authors argue that methodological issues with the empirical strategies used in this literature leave the results open to diverse interpretations. They find that indicators of "openness" used by researchers are often poor measures of trade barriers or are highly correlated with other factors affecting economic performance. The paper reviews several key studies, including Dollar (1992), Ben-David (1993), Sachs and Warner (1995), and Edwards (1998), and concludes that there is little evidence that lower tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade are significantly associated with economic growth. The authors suggest that the relationship between trade policy and growth is contingent on various country and external characteristics and that further research is needed to understand these conditions. They emphasize that the welfare implications of empirical results regarding this link must be treated with caution, as growth and welfare are not the same thing.This paper critically examines the empirical literature on the relationship between trade policy and economic growth, questioning the consensus that lower trade barriers lead to faster economic growth. The authors argue that methodological issues with the empirical strategies used in this literature leave the results open to diverse interpretations. They find that indicators of "openness" used by researchers are often poor measures of trade barriers or are highly correlated with other factors affecting economic performance. The paper reviews several key studies, including Dollar (1992), Ben-David (1993), Sachs and Warner (1995), and Edwards (1998), and concludes that there is little evidence that lower tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade are significantly associated with economic growth. The authors suggest that the relationship between trade policy and growth is contingent on various country and external characteristics and that further research is needed to understand these conditions. They emphasize that the welfare implications of empirical results regarding this link must be treated with caution, as growth and welfare are not the same thing.