Download or read book Can Africa Export Manufactures written by Ibrahim Elbadawi and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: May 1999 - Africa's poor performance in manufactured exports in the 1990s (relative to East Asia) appears to be largely the result of bad policies-especially policies that affect transaction costs. Elbadawi analyzes the determinants of manufactured exports in Africa and other developing countries, guided by three pivotal views on Sub-Saharan Africa's (Africa's) prospects in manufactured exports: Adrian Woods holds that Africa cannot have comparative advantage in exports of labor-intensive manufactures (even if broadly defined to include raw material processing) because its natural resources endowment is greater than its human resources endowment (endowment thesis); Paul Collier argues that, for most of Africa, unusually high (policy-induced) transaction costs are the main source of Africa's comparative disadvantage in manufactured exports (transaction thesis); A third approach (Elbadawi and Helleiner) emphasizes the importance of stable, competitive real exchange rates for profitability of exports in low-income countries (exchange rate-led strategy). Elbadawi tests the implications of these three views with an empirical model of manufactured export performance (manufactured exports' share of GDP), using a panel of 41 countries for 1980-95. His findings: Corroborate the predictions of the transaction thesis, in that transaction costs are major determinants of manufactures exports. Investing in reducing these costs generates the highest payoff for export capacity; Lend support for the exchange rate-led strategy. After controlling for other factors, ratios of natural resources per worker were not robustly associated with export performance across countries, but this cannot be taken as formal rejection of the endowment thesis - unless one is prepared to assume that manufactured exports' share of GDP was highly correlated with ratios of manufactured to aggregate (or primary) exports. But this is not unlikely. This paper-a product of Public Economics, Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to research manufactures exports' competitiveness. The author may be contacted at [email protected].
Download or read book Open Economies Work Better written by Francis Ng and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1996 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Africa Can Compete written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1996 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All 15 new independent states established in the economic space of the former Soviet Union suffered big declines in output and trade after gaining independence. This study summarizes cross-country experience on the role of trade and payments policies in the linked contraction of output and trade by drawing on eight country case studies: Estonia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The results of the case studies show that trade reform and reorientation of trade toward the rest of the world have done much to arrest the decline in output usually associated with the transformation from plan to market. Also available in English: Stock no. 13615 (ISBN 0-8213-3615-0).
Download or read book Market Access Supplier Access and Africa s Manufactured Exports written by Ibrahim Elbadawi and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In a large cross-country sample of manufacturing establishments drawn from 188 cities, average exports per establishment are smaller for African firms than for businesses in other regions. The authors show that this is mainly because, on average, African firms face more adverse economic geography and operate in poorer institutional settings. Once they control for the quality of institutions and economic geography, what in effect is a negative African dummy disappears from the firm level exports equation they estimate. One part of the effect of geography operates through Africa's lower "foreign market access:" African firms are located further away from wealthier or denser potential export markets. A second occurs through the region's lower "supplier access:" African firms face steeper input prices, partly because of their physical distance from cheaper foreign suppliers, and partly because domestic substitutes for importable inputs are more expensive. Africa's poorer institutions reduce its manufactured exports directly, as well as indirectly, by lowering foreign market access and supplier access. Both geography and institutions influence average firm level exports significantly more through their effect on the number of exporters than through their impact on how much each exporter sells in foreign markets. "--World Bank web site.
Download or read book Pathways to African Export Sustainability written by Paul Brenton and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-07-17 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research carried out for this book demonstrates that governments can and should help to reduce the rate of failure of African export ventures through a mixture of improvements in the business environment, as well as well-targeted proactive interventions. The business environment can be made more conducive to sustainable export entrepreneurship through traditional policy prescriptions such as reducing transportation costs, facilitating trade through better technology and workflow in border management, improving the effectiveness of banking regulations to ensure the availability of trade finance, and striving for regulatory simplicity and coherence. In addition, governments can help leverage synergies between exporters. Original research featured in this book shows that African exporters improve each other's chances of survival when a critical mass of them penetrates a given market together. They also benefit from diaspora presence in destination markets.
Download or read book Exporting Africa written by Sam Wangwe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-09-02 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exporting Africa explains how firms, which have developed export trade in Sub-Saharan economies, have been able to sustain their competitiveness in the face of rapid technological change in the international economy: in short, how they deal with the threats and the promises which rapid technological changes present to Africa. The papers present new empirical research and an innovative conceptual framework.
Download or read book Short Changed written by Michael Barratt Brown and published by Pluto Press (UK). This book was released on 1992 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of Africa and world trade.
Download or read book Sub Saharan Africa written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Did Domestic Policies Marginalize Africa in International Trade written by Alexander J. Yeats and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World Bank Technical Paper No. 344. Presents and analyzes a wealth of data on levels of and trends in health status, delivery of services, and financing in each of the former Soviet states of Central Asia. The paper examines health care reform from the perspectives of macroeconomic constraints, the demographic and epidemiological transitions facing each country, the underlying structure and financing of their health systems, and what they have inherited from the old Soviet system.
Download or read book Protection and Export Performance in Sub Saharan Africa written by Mr.Dean A. DeRosa and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 1990-09-01 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the extent and structure of nominal protection in a large sample of Sub-Saharan countries, and provides estimates of the effects of this protection on the exports of these countries. Both tariff rates and the frequency of nontariff barriers are found to be appreciably higher on average in the Sub-Saharan countries than in other developing countries. The empirical estimates, based on simulations of a simple model of trade and real exchange rate adjustment, suggest that protection reduces the value of the sample countries’ exports (relative to baseline levels) by between 15 and 33 percent per annum, and inhibits export diversification.
Download or read book Africa Guide to Business Finance for U S Firms written by and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Economic Partnership Agreements and the Export Competitiveness of Africa written by Paul Brenton and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2008 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Trade can be a key driver of growth for African countries, as it has been for those countries, particularly in East Asia, that have experienced high and sustained rates of growth. Economic partnership agreements with the European Union could be instrumental in a competitiveness framework, but to do so they would have to be designed carefully in a way that supports integration into the global economy and is consistent with national development strategies. Interim agreements have focused on reciprocal tariff removal and less restrictive rules of origin. To be fully effective, economic partnership agreements will have to address constraints to regional integration, including both tariff and non-tariff barriers; improve trade facilitation; and define appropriate most favored nation services liberalization. At the same time, African countries will need to reduce external tariff peak barriers on a most favored nation basis to ensure that when preferences for the European Union are implemented after transitional periods, they do not lead to substantial losses from trade diversion. This entails an ambitious agenda of policy reform that must be backed up by development assistance in the form of "aid for trade."
Download or read book Can Sub Saharan Africa Leap Into Global Network Trade written by Uma Subramanian and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines opportunities for Sub-Saharan African countries to effectively participate in globalization, particularly given the increasing interest of China and India in Sub-Saharan Africa. How can Sub-Saharan Africa fully engage and gain benefits from global network trade? Over the past 15 years Asia has become Africa's fastest growing export market. Asian countries are much more open to trade than Europe or America. There seems to be no evidence to suggest that this trend will not continue in the near future. The authors acknowledge the numerous caveats in Asia's growing interest in the African continent, not least the "resource curse" of exports that are heavily concentrated on oil, minerals, and raw materials, as well as the fierce competition from Asia's cheap manufactured exports. However, they believe that there is strong evidence to suggest a clear potential for South-South cooperation in trade and investment. Drawing on evidence from their extensive research into international value chains, the authors identify five critical factors for effective participation in global network trade: price, speed-to-market, labor productivity, flexibility, and product quality. Underlying competitive performance of these critical factors are a country's policies and institutions. Effective policies, efficient institutions, and the necessary infrastructure will ensure the best outcome for trading countries. To improve the depth and sustainability of these five critical factors, it is important that developing countries create a supportive policy and institutional framework from the outset.
Download or read book Did External Barriers Cause the Marginalization of Sub Saharan Africa in World Trade written by Azita Amjadi and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1996-01-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Urban Management Programme Paper No. 20. Reviews the specific actions that municipalities and city governments may take in contributing to urban poverty reduction. The paper highlights example of issues, options, and constraints that urban governments must address in fighting poverty. It focuses on municipalities and other city-level government entities as a critical institutional level of intervention. Other language editions available: French--Stock No. 13814 (ISBN 0-8213-3814-5); English--Stock No. 13716 (ISBN 0-8213-3716-5).
Download or read book Africa Guide to Business Finance for U S Firms written by Jeffrey L. Greenblum and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and Its Rules of Origin written by Aaditya Mattoo and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2002-09 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper describes the United States recently enacted Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and assesses its quantitative impact on African exports. The AGOA expands the scope of preferential access of Africa's exports to the United States in key areas such as clothing. However, its medium term benefits estimated at about US$100-$140 million, an 8 11 percent addition to current non-oil exports would have been nearly five times greater (US$540 million) if no restrictive conditions had been imposed on the terms of market access. The most important of these conditions are the rules of origin with which African exporters of clothing must comply to benefit from duty-free access.
Download or read book Exporting Africa written by S. M. Wangwe and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The economic crisis which has hit Africa since 1985 is raising questions about Africa's future position in World Trade and whether it has any chance of developing a competitive industrial structure. Presenting studies of 55 exporting manufacturers in six African countries, this collection examines the question of why some firms in the Sub-Saharan economies have been able to develop export trade, despite generally unfavourable circumstances. In particular the papers seek to understand how these firms have been able to sustain their competitiveness in the face of rapid technological change in the international economy in the context of the threats and promises such change presents to Africa. A case is made for selective complementary investments by governments to build the technological capabilities which are necessary for attaining and maintaining competitiveness. The papers present empirical research and a framework which should be of interest to academics in the development field and to government as well as international policy makers.
