• economic history
• economic growth
• trade openness

The debate between the optimists and the pessimists about the role of trade openness on growth is far from being resolved. The aim of this study is to re-examine the empirical evidence from the late 19th century until the early 21st century in a consistent model that has been largely neglected in the literature. I compare the relationship between trade openness and growth in three eras: the first wave of globalization era (1875–1913), the protectionism era (1919–1938), and the trade liberalization era (1969–2008). The empirical evidence indicates that the relationship between trade openness and growth depends on the state of the global trade regime and certain country characteristics. There is no evidence that trade openness had a negative relationship with economic growth, except in the protectionism era. During the trade liberalization era, the relationship was positive but fragile. The positive effect during this era was sensitive to the type of estimated models. When it comes to segregation between the low-income and the high-income countries, the relationship was negative for the low-income countries, while it was positive for the high-income countries in the protectionism era. This study concludes that although the world with freer trade regime does not necessarily offer prosperity, the world with a more closed regime is more likely to cause harm, especially for the low-income countries.