The complex relation between Belarusian trade openness and the agricultural sector

Abstract

Common sense states that greater trade openness is a very important challenge to some economic sectors such as agriculture. We tested this claim by considering a Belarusian time series observed since 1990. Employing cointegration techniques, we concluded that trade openness exerted a positive stimulus on Belarusian agriculture; therefore, the stagnant evolution of Belarusian trade openness could be identified as a statistically significant determinant of the diminishing Belarusian agricultural share in the GDP. Our results project some policy implications, namely the opportunity that greater Belarusian trade openness offers to the agriculture of Belarus or the importance of more efficient political management of some of the correlated dimensions (tested here also), such as the school system, urban trends and the proportion of employees in agriculture.