Is Economic Integration the Solution to African Development?

Attiat Ott () and Oswaldo Patino ()

International Advances in Economic Research, 2009, vol. 15, issue 3, 278-295

Abstract: In the African continent, several regional initiatives have been launched or executed. These gave rise to several groupings including COMESA consisting of 19 countries, ECOWAS (15 countries), ECCAS (10 countries), and SADC with 15 countries. These groupings are not exclusive in that several countries belong to more than one regional group. The road to full integration clearly begins with a regional arrangement. The many groupings in Africa had the long term goal of creating an all inclusive African Economic Union. The objective is to promote the African continent’s economic growth, political stability, and good governance. The paper examines the effectiveness of some of these regional grouping in the context of an all-inclusive African club with the aid of the club model. Using data for the period 1986–2005, costs and benefits of membership are evaluated using the gravity Model. The Helpman’s size dispersion index is used to identify a potential anchor for a regional grouping. Copyright International Atlantic Economic Society 2009

Keywords: Regional integration in Africa; The club model; The gravity equation; G11; F15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1007/s11294-009-9212-0

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