A most interesting question. It would be good to define better what type of economic development is in place: is it market based? free economy based? primary sector based? heavy industrial sector based? planned based? In other words what is the economic development pathway chosen?

From my own and humble research on exchange, it does not necessarily contribute or support economic development. It is somewhat like, taking for granted that economic growth contributes to economic development.

Exchange, for example, like in early Mesopotamia, was an exchange of gifts and did not involve any form of barter or money. It was a form of one group of people, obtaining what they could not produce themselves, and what they produced would be gifted to others. Cleary such a 'gift economy' for example, did not provide for economic development as there was little 'economy' involved, if at all. It was more a way of attempting to keep social stability, and thus peace among different groups of people, more then seeking for development. Most often than not, such exchanges were not voluntary, they were power based exchanges, that were 'commanded' by a chief, who had interests in providing for such exchanges. These power-based exchanges was not, redistributed, among all, and thus could lead to discontent, within, and not between, groups of people. However, exchange could be within groups, and these could be both voluntary and power based, but without the development of institutions, like markets, for example, could not produce economic development. Exchanges could be simple spot exchanges or relational exchanges, but pending on where they occurred, in what circumstances and how they occurred, could and could not provide for economic development. Importantly, voluntary exchanges, require an 'invisible third party' that can insure that the exchanges go according to whatever norms are in place, within institutional arrangements of that context and point in time. In other words contractual exchanges. Such also require functioning market institutions, to be able to contribute to economic development, as without such, it cannot be really termed economic development. For example, in West Africa, there is the informal institutional norm, in live stock markets, where between seller and buyer their is a 'mediator' that provides for the fairness of the exchange, but both sides must not only agree to the mediator, but also respect and most importantly implement what such an informal institutional norm provides for, for the terms of exchange. Further there can be exchanges also based on empathy, where those who have, for example, 'exchange' with those who do not have. They provide, for example, goods, and in exchange receive consensus. Thus and overall, it seems that exchange in itself, does not necessarily contribute to economic development. Matters also pend on other variables in the location and context of the exchange.

El intercambio, entendido no solo como comercio sino como un concepto amplio de interacción económica y social, juega un papel crucial pero complejo en el apoyo al desarrollo económico.

Un intercambio justo y equitativo puede impulsar el crecimiento al facilitar el acceso a bienes, tecnologías y conocimientos, diversificar las economías y generar ingresos. Sin embargo, históricamente, el intercambio desigual en la región ha perpetuado la dependencia y el extractivismo.

Un intercambio que priorice la soberanía económica, fomente la integración regional en términos equitativos, promueva la diversificación productiva con valor agregado, y garantice condiciones laborales y ambientales dignas. El intercambio debe ser una herramienta para construir economías resilientes, reducir la desigualdad y promover el bienestar de las mayorías, no para profundizar la dependencia y la explotación.

Exchanges (financial and commodity) mobilize savings, provide price discovery and liquidity, lower transaction costs, and enable risk sharing and capital allocation to productive firms; well-regulated exchanges support investment, SMEs access to finance, and transparency — but weak or speculative exchanges can amplify volatility, so regulatory quality matters.