New academic research: No pain, no gain for WTO aspirants

In the April issue of International Organization, Todd Allee and Jamie Scalera examine the very different paths that states have taken to World Trade Organization (WTO) membership–and try to figure out whether those different routes have affected the trade benefits states ultimately derive from membership. The authors point out that some countries skated into the organization while others have had to make painful trade concessions. Research into the effect of the WTO on its members, the authors argue, hasn’t distinguished between these very different processes. When the authors classified members according to the rigor of their respective accession process, they found that those who struggled to join the organization benefited most from membership:  

[T]he WTO has generated trade benefits for many of its members and is likely to continue to do so as long as future accessions and future multilateral rounds include meaningful trade liberalization…the thirty current WTO applicants should push forward with their accessions, even in the face of heavy scrutiny or demands that they make major trade policy reforms….Our research suggests that although these accessions can be controversial and potentially costly for applicant states, the potential reward in the form of trade increases is likely to justify the costs of accession.