Economic theory suggests that more open countries should grow faster and have higher income levels than less open ones. International trade enables firms to specialise in goods and services that can be most efficiently produced in the home country. Trade may enable firms to sell to larger markets, hence exploiting economies of scale. Trade also puts pressure on prices for final goods and intermediate inputs and increases international fragmentation of production processes, further reducing costs. Finally, firms exposed to international competition are continuously forced to innovate in order to succeed.