Do nonreciprocal preferential trade agreements increase beneficiaries' exports?

This paper investigates whether and to what extent nonreciprocal preferential trade agreements (NRPTAs) have increased developing countries' exports to richer countries. Using recent developments in the econometric analysis of the gravity equation over the period 1960-2008, we find robust evidence that, on the whole, NRPTAs and the Generalized System of Preferences have had an economically significant effect on exports from developing countries. However, the estimation of catch-all dummies masks heterogeneous results for the individual programs.