Regional Integration, Trade and Industry in Africa (Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development)

✍ Scribed by Helmut Asche

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 304
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book examines the past, present and prospects of regional economic integration in Africa. The empirical analysis ranges from unions formed during the years following independence, to the proposed African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to remove trade barriers between all 55 African states. In addition, the book explores to what extent Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have advanced in accordance with a linear integration model of goods, labor and capital markets.

The book subsequently evaluates the suitability of the European model of deep integration with costly institutions for the conditions specific to Africa, considering, for example, the role of informal and non-recorded trade. Stylized cases of regional division of labour with increasing returns and imperfect competition are introduced to support the economic integration logic. Past and current economic policies in Africa are scrutinized to answer the question: how can African regions best foster new manufacturing industries and value chains across the continent? In conclusion, the book outlines content and processes of Common Industrial Policy in the African regions. The book also addresses the controversial issue of international trade agreements between developing countries and the European Union or the USA and investigates whether these agreements impede or promote economic development in Africa. The book includes a detailed roadmap describing how to improve key clauses of agreements for economic partnership in the interest of African countries. In closing, it outlines a new vision of joint sustainable development for Africa and Europe.

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Regional Economic Integration in Africa: An Introduction
Contents
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Textboxes
Part I The Economic Regions in Africa
1 The State of the Unions
1.1 Regionalization and Regionalism—What Defines an Economic Region?
1.2 Empirics—the Panoply of Regional Organizations in Africa
2 The Logical Sequence of Regional Economic Integration
2.1 The Linear Model
2.2 Mind Your Steps
2.3 Optimal Monetary Unions?
2.4 Non-Tariff Measures
2.5 Defining Common Standards
2.6 A Simple Proposal to Amend the Linear Model
2.7 A Model to Follow in Africa?
3 The Reality of African Trade Integration—Challenges of Implementation
3.1 Domestication Issues
3.2 What is a Free Trade Area ? Global Standards in Use
3.3 The Logic of Exception and Exclusion
3.4 Bilateral Treaties in the Midst of Regional Communities
3.5 The Impact of REC Overlaps
3.6 Two Types of Customs Unions
3.7 Where African RECs Currently Stand—Key Indicators of Trade Integration
3.8 Informal Trade and Neighbourhood Effects
3.9 Contested Regions
4 Regional Integration in Trade Theory
4.1 Four Strands of Arguments
4.2 Trade Creation and Trade Diversion
4.2.1 Revisiting the Basics
4.2.2 Diagrammatic Treatment of Tariff Effects
4.2.3 The Developmental Case with Increasing Returns
4.2.4 Diagrammatic Treatment of South-South Communities
4.3 The Size of South-South Regional Markets
4.4 Concentration Effects in Regional Trade Agreements: Who Benefits?
4.4.1 Regional Trade with Complete Specialization
4.4.2 Regional Trade with Incomplete Specialization
4.5 Diversification and Specialization
4.6 Imperfect Trade in Homogeneous Goods
5 The Coordination Problem in Regional Integration
5.1 Irregularities to Overcome
5.2 Trade Facilitation as Remedy?
5.3 Light Integration as the Alternative?
6 On the African Continental Free Trade Area
6.1 Grand Projects of Africa-Wide Economic Integration
6.2 Critical Assessment of the CFTA Project
6.2.1 Building Block Logic—Yet a Good One?
6.2.2 Jumping over the Stumbling Blocks?
6.2.3 A Generic Solution to Liberalize Trade in Africa?
6.3 The Political Economy of Implementation
6.4 A Higher-Order Project of Regional Economic Integration
6.5 Fundamental Choices
6.6 Transformative/Developmental Regionalism?
Part II Industrial Policy in the African Regions
7 A Fourfold Justification of Common Industrial Policy
7.1 The Twin Problem of Industry and Region
7.2 National Industrial Policies in the Region
7.3 Regional Imbalance and Divergence
7.3.1 Regionally Inclusive Industrial Growth
7.3.2 Regional Compensation Policies
7.3.3 Common Industrial Policy in African Regions
7.4 Regional Integration Versus Industrial Nationalism
7.5 Industrialization Strategy Implicit in Trade Policy
7.5.1 The Common External Tariff
7.5.2 Rules of Origin
7.5.3 Inter-Regional Trade Negotiations
7.6 The Sum of Arguments: Why Common Industrial Policy?
7.7 The Region as Political Lock-In Mechanism?
7.8 The Formal Status of Common Industrial Policy
8 Essentials of Common Industrial Policy
8.1 Design Principles of Industrial Policy in General
8.2 Regional Industrial Policy Design
8.3 Making Sense of Regional Industries
8.4 Networks and Lighthouses
8.5 The Incentive System
8.6 Locational/Spatial Policies
8.7 Conclusion: Easy Gains or Science Fiction?
9 Industrialization Strategies and Regional Actors
9.1 Regional Industrial Policies and Strategies
9.1.1 Case Study 1: West African Dairy Business—A Promising Regional Industry?
9.1.2 Case Study 2: Regional Textile Industry—A Mirage?
9.2 Conclusion: Sound Regional Strategies?
9.3 Financial Institutions in the African Regions
9.4 Regional Development Aid
9.4.1 Aid that Comes as ‘Private Sector Development’ (PSD)
9.4.2 The New ‘Private Sector Engagement’
9.5 Regional Business Associations
9.6 A Very Short Summary of Common Industrial Policy
Part III Global Dimensions of Regionalism
10 Shallow and Deep Integration
10.1 Global Trade Negotiations
10.2 Trade Deals Running and Trade Deals to Come
11 The EU-Africa Trade Agreements
11.1 Initial Country Configurations in Africa
11.2 Final Configuration and EU Preference Systems
12 The Content of Economic Partnership Agreements
12.1 Initial Critique
12.1.1 Case Study 3: The Chicken Saga
12.2 The Scope of the Final EPAs
12.3 The Trade-in-Goods Agreements
12.3.1 Policy Space in GATT/WTO and EPAs
12.3.2 The WTO Waiver
12.3.3 Standstill Clauses—The Unidirectional Mode of EPAs
12.3.4 The Market Access Offer
12.3.5 Impact Assessments of Trade Liberalization
12.3.6 The Structural Problem of the African Market Access Offer
12.3.7 Fiscal Losses from the Liberalization Schedule
12.3.8 Prohibition of Quantitative Restrictions
12.3.9 The Exclusion Lists of Sensitive Products
12.3.10 Trade Remedies: Anti-dumping, Countervailing and Safeguard Clauses
12.3.11 Infant Industry Protection
12.3.12 Export Duties
12.3.13 Case Study 4: Cashew Production and Mozambique's Export Tax
12.3.14 National Treatment, Local Content Rules and Public Procurement
12.3.15 Export Subsidies
12.3.16 Most Favoured Nation Treatment
12.3.17 Rules of Origin
12.3.18 Economic Sanctions—The Right of Non-execution
13 Final Assessment of the EU-Africa Trade Deals—Ways Out?
13.1 The Political Impasse
13.2 Grand Alternatives
13.3 Repair Work
13.4 New Areas for Strategic Dialogue
13.5 New Aid for Trade
14 Conclusion and Outlook
14.1 Conclusion—How to Achieve Africa’s Economic Unity
14.2 Outlook—Sustainable Prospects for Regions, Trade and Industry
References