Regional Integration in Africa

Kato Kimbugwe, Nicholas Perdikis, May Yeung and William Kerr
Additional contact information
Kato Kimbugwe: Aberystwyth University
Nicholas Perdikis: Aberystwyth University

Chapter 3 in Economic Development Through Regional Trade, 2012, pp 32-75 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Regionalism is not a new phenomenon in Africa given that one of the oldest customs unions is in southern Africa, and the list of both past and present RTAs is likely longer than that of any other continent. Despite the number of RTAs in Sub-Saharan Africa, the region’s record of maintaining and sustaining regional frameworks is generally poor, though some successful examples of regional cooperation do exist (see Foroutan, 1993; Oyejide et al., 1997; Collier and Gunning, 1999; Yeats, 1999; Mold, 2005). One of the most compelling arguments for regional integration in Africa is based on the fragmentation of African markets, characterized by 56 small economies, with an average gross domestic product (GDP) of $4 billion (van Niekerk, 2005). These small markets, combined with generally high production and transaction costs and poor investment climates, attract limited foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2003, 16 countries achieved an average economic growth rate of 3 per cent, another 16 countries grew at a rate of 3 to 5 per cent and 18 countries had more than 5 per cent (World Bank, 2004). In 2007, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) report (UNECA, 2007) found that GDP grew a modest 5.2 per cent in 2004, 5.3 per cent in 2005, 5.7 per cent in 2006 and 5.8 per cent in 2007.

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Gross Domestic Product; Regional Integration; Regional Trade; Custom Union (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-36992-4_3

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9780230369924

DOI: 10.1057/9780230369924_3

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().