Integration of saarc countries towards world trade

The present research paper investigates the degree of openness of SAARC countries to the world trade. The degree of openness of the SAARC counties to world trade is the symbolic indicator for the strength of SAARC countries as representative of economic integration. GDP, GDP per capita income of SAARC countries are considered for the study to capture the economic mass of SAARC countries. The export and import values of the SAARC countries are used for the constructing the degree of openness. The relationship between the degree of openness and economic mass are investigated to assess the impact of economic mass of the respective SAARC country on its outward towards world trade. The empirical findings of this paper has revealed that the degree openness of SAARC countries differ significantly among SAARC nations and there is strong and significant relationship exist between the degree of openness and economic mass of SAARC countries.