Download or read book Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub Saharan Africa written by Piet Buys and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent research suggests that poor economic integration and isolation from regional and international markets have contributed significantly to poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poor transport infrastructure and border restrictions are major deterrents to trade expansion which would stimulate economic growth and poverty reduction. Using spatial network analysis techniques and gravity trade model estimations, this paper quantifies the economics of upgrading a primary road network that connects the major urban areas in the region. The results indicate that continental network upgrading is worth serious consideration from an economic perspective. Our simulations suggest that overland trade among Sub-Saharan African countries might expand by about $250 billion over 15 years, with major direct and indirect benefits for the rural poor. Financing the programme would require about $20 billion for initial upgrading and $1 billion annually for maintenance.

Download or read book Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub Saharan Africa written by Piet Buys and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent research suggests that isolation from regional and international markets has contributed significantly to poverty in many Sub-Saharan African countries. Numerous empirical studies identify poor transport infrastructure and border restrictions as significant deterrents to trade expansion. In response, the African Development Bank has proposed an integrated network of functional roads for the subcontinent. Drawing on new econometric results, the authors quantify the trade-expansion potential and costs of such a network. They use spatial network analysis techniques to identify a network of primary roads connecting all Sub-Saharan capitals and other cities with populations over 500,000. The authors estimate current overland trade flows in the network using econometrically-estimated gravity model parameters, road transport quality indicators, actual road distances, and estimates of economic scale for cities in the network. Then they simulate the effect of feasible continental upgrading by setting network transport quality at a level that is functional, but less highly developed than existing roads in countries like South Africa and Botswana. The authors assess the costs of upgrading with econometric evidence from a large World Bank database of road project costs in Africa. Using a standard approach to forecast error estimation, they derive a range of potential benefits and costs. Their baseline results indicate that continental network upgrading would expand overland trade by about $250 billion over 15 years, with major direct and indirect benefits for the rural poor. Financing the program would require about $20 billion for initial upgrading and $1 billion annually for maintenance. The authors conclude with a discussion of supporting institutional arrangements and the potential cost of implementing them.

Download or read book Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub Saharan Africa written by Piet Buys and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent research suggests that isolation from regional and international markets has contributed significantly to poverty in many Sub-Saharan African countries. Numerous empirical studies identify poor transport infrastructure and border restrictions as significant deterrents to trade expansion. In response, the African Development Bank has proposed an integrated network of functional roads for the subcontinent. Drawing on new econometric results, the authors quantify the trade-expansion potential and costs of such a network. They use spatial network analysis techniques to identify a network of primary roads connecting all Sub-Saharan capitals and other cities with populations over 500,000. The authors estimate current overland trade flows in the network using econometrically-estimated gravity model parameters, road transport quality indicators, actual road distances, and estimates of economic scale for cities in the network. Then they simulate the effect of feasible continental upgrading by setting network transport quality at a level that is functional, but less highly developed than existing roads in countries like South Africa and Botswana. The authors assess the costs of upgrading with econometric evidence from a large World Bank database of road project costs in Africa. Using a standard approach to forecast error estimation, they derive a range of potential benefits and costs. Their baseline results indicate that continental network upgrading would expand overland trade by about $250 billion over 15 years, with major direct and indirect benefits for the rural poor. Financing the program would require about $20 billion for initial upgrading and $1 billion annually for maintenance. The authors conclude with a discussion of supporting institutional arrangements and the potential cost of implementing them.

Download or read book Networks of International Trade and Investment written by Matthew Smith and published by Vernon Press. This book was released on 2019-08-05 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent decades, the international economy has witnessed fundamental changes in the way manufacturing is organised: products are no longer manufactured in their entirety in a single location. Instead, the production process is often split across a number of stages located in countries that are frequently far apart from each other. By spreading out their manufacturing and supply chain activities globally through international investment and intra-firm trade, Multinational enterprises (MNEs) play a focal role in this reorganisation of production. Our ability to understand the global economy, therefore, requires an understanding of the interdependencies between the entities involved in such fragmented production. Traditional methods and statistical approaches are insufficient to address this challenge. Instead, an approach is required that allows us to account for these interdependencies. The most promising approach so far is network analysis. ‘Networks of International Trade and Investment’ makes a case for the use of network analysis alongside existing techniques in order to investigate pressing issues in international business and economics. The authors put forward a range of well-informed studies that examine compelling topics such as the role of emerging economies in global trade and the evolution of world trade patterns. They look at how network analysis, as both an approach and a methodology, can explain international business and economics phenomena, in particular, in relation to international trade and investment. Providing a comprehensive but accessible explanation of the applications of network analysis and some of the most recent methodological advances in its field, this edited volume is an important contribution to research in international trade and investment.

Download or read book Unlocking Africa s Business Potential written by Landry Signe and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Africa welcomes business investment and offers some of the world's highest returns and impacts Africa has tremendous economic potential and offers rewarding opportunities for global businesses looking for new markets and long-term investments with favorable returns. Africa has been one of the world's fastest-growing regions over the past decade, and by 2030 will be home to nearly 1.7 billion people and an estimated $6.7 trillion worth of consumer and business spending. Increased political stability in recent years and improving regional integration are making market access easier, and business expansion will generate jobs for women and youth, who represent the vast majority of the population. Current economic growth and poverty-alleviation efforts mean that more than 43 percent of the continent's people will reach middle- or upper-class status by 2030. Unlocking Africa's Business Potential examines business opportunities in the eight sectors with the highest potential returns on private investment—the same sectors that will foster economic growth and diversification, job creation, and improved general welfare. These sectors include: consumer markets, agriculture and agriprocessing, information and communication technology, manufacturing, oil and gas, tourism, banking, and infrastructure and construction. The book's analysis of these sectors is based on case studies that identify specific opportunities for investment and growth, along with long-term market projections to inform decision-making. The book identifies potential risks to business and offers mitigation strategies. It also provides policymakers with solutions to attract new business investments, including how to remove barriers to business and accelerate development of the private sector.

Download or read book Africa s Development Dynamics 2019 Achieving Productive Transformation written by African Union Commission and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Africa’s Development DynamicsWhat are the major economic and social trends in Africa? What is Africa’s role in globalisation? This annual report presents an Africa open to the world and towards the future. uses the lessons learned in the five African regions – Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa – to develop recommendations and share good practices. The report identifies innovative policies and offers practical policy recommendations, adapted to the specificities of African economies. Drawing on the most recent available statistics, this analysis of development dynamics aims to help African leaders reach the targets of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 at all levels: continental, regional, national, and local. Every year this report will focus on one strategic theme. This 2019 edition explores policies for productive transformation. It proposes three main policy focus for transforming firms: providing business services to clusters of firms; developing regional production networks; and improving exporting firms’ ability to thrive in fast-changing markets. This volume feeds into a policy debate between African Union’s nations, citizens, entrepreneurs and researchers. It aims to be part of a new co-operation between countries and regions focused on mutual learning and the preservation of common goods. This report is the result of a partnership between the African Union Commission and the OECD Development Centre.

Download or read book Services Trade and Development written by Aaditya Mattoo and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007-03-21 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some see trade in services as irrelevant to the development agenda for least developed countries (LDCs). Others see few benefits from past market openings by LDCs. This book debunks both views. It finds that serious imperfections in Zambia's reform of services trade deprived the country of significant benefits and diminished faith in liberalization. What is to be done? Move aggressively and consistently to eliminate barriers to entry and competition. Develop and enforce regulations to deal with market failures. And implement proactive policies to widen the access of firms, farms, and consumers to services of all kinds. These lessons from Zambia are applicable to all LDCs. In all this, international agreements can help. But to succeed, LDCs mustcommit to open markets and their trading partners must provide assistance for complementary reforms. Zambia, which leads the LDC group at the World Trade Organization, can show the way.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics written by Célestin Monga and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2015-07-02 with total page 993 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A popular myth about the travails of Africa holds that the continent's long history of poor economic performance reflects the inability of its leaders and policymakers to fulfill the long list of preconditions to be met before sustained growth can be achieved. These conditions are said to vary from the necessary quantity and quality of physical and human capital to the appropriate institutions and business environments. While intellectually charming and often elegantly formulated, that conventional wisdom is actually contradicted by historical evidence and common sense. It also suggests a form of intellectual mimicry that posits a unique path to prosperity for all countries regardless of their level of development and economic structure. In fact, the argument underlining that reasoning is tautological, and the policy prescriptions derived from it are fatally teleological: low-income countries are by definition those where such ingredients are missing. None of today's high-income countries started its growth process with the "required" and complete list of growth ingredients. Unless one truly believes that the continent of Africa-and most developing countries-are ruled predominantly if not exclusively by plutocrats with a high propensity for sadomasochism, the conventional view must be re-examined, debated, and questioned. This volume-the second of the lOxford Handbook of Africa and Economics-reassesses the economic policies and practices observed across the continent since independence. It offers a collection of analyses by some of the leading economists and development thinkers of our time, and reflects a wide range of perspectives and viewpoints. Africa's emergence as a potential economic powerhouse in the years and decades ahead amply justifies the scope and ambition of the book.

Download or read book Strategic Policy Options for Bracing Nigeria for the Future of Trade written by Gbadebo Odularu and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the fourth industrial era evolves, the role of blockchain technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and machine learning in transforming national commerce cannot be overemphasized, especially with the expansion of e-commerce in Africa. In other words, technological advancement and innovation are becoming essential to many aspects of Nigerian businesses, thereby considerably enhancing trade and productivity. This book provides a primer on the role that digital technology may play in Nigeria’s trade flows, and the implications for enabling an economy-wide deployment of digitization in trade facilitation. This book analyzes the importance of STI’s contributions to the Nigerian economy, focusing on the transition to digital solutions and their potential to significantly increase trade and commerce. Since AfCFTA’s 2018 launch, academic and political responses to the automation of business have increased. Further, business promotion, aid-for-trade, regional integration and trade facilitation issues are at the forefront of business development policy and intellectual discourse in Nigeria. This book details Nigeria’s business opportunities, capacities and challenges with a special interest in sustainably enhancing the nation’s business ecosystem in the digital age. Through the examination of trade facilitation policies, programs, tools, models and technologies, this book demonstrates Nigeria’s need for strategic public-private partnership in digital trade to foster a more sustainable business future.

Download or read book Sustainable High Volume Road and Rail Transport in Low Income Countries written by Michael Burrow and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2021-01-13 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Special Issue presents an in-depth analysis of transport research commissioned by the UK Department for International Development under the High Volume Transport Programme (2017-2023). The analysis done in the period 2018-2019 contributes to the UK response to improving transport in the low-income countries in Africa and South Asia. As a result, key priorities have been identified for applied research in 2020 to make road, rail and urban transport more efficient and affordable, and all transport greener, safer and more inclusive for all users. This applied research is a vital link in making transport a sustainable lifeline for people in low-income countries, because transport gives farmers and manufacturers access to domestic and international markets and people in rural and urban areas access to schools and health services.

Download or read book The Oxford Companion to the Economics of Africa written by Ernest Aryeetey and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-01-19 with total page 686 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This compendium of entries provides thematic and country perspectives to create a picture of the concerns of modern economics in Africa, with contributions from more than 100 leading economic analysts of Africa.

Download or read book The WEB of Transport Corridors in South Asia written by Asian Development Bank;JICA;UKAID;World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2018-03-19 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The WEB of Transport Corridors in South Asia develops a holistic appraisal methodology to ensure that economic benefits of investments in transport corridors are amplified and more widely spread, and possible negative impacts such as congestion, environmental degradation, and other unintended consequences are minimized. It focuses on South Asia—not only as one of the world’s most populous and poorest regions—but as a hinge between East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The book is aimed at politicians, technocrats, civil society organizations, and businesses. It presents case studies of past and recent corridor initiatives, provides rigorous analysis of the literature on the spatial impact of corridors, and offers assessments of corridor investment projects supported by international development organizations. A series of spotlights examines such issues as private sector co-investment; the impacts of corridors on small enterprises and women; and issues with implementing cross-border corridors. The 'WEB' in the title stands for both the wider economic benefits (WEB) that transport corridors are expected to generate and the complex web of transport corridors that has been proposed. The appraisal methodology introduced in this book shows how the web of interconnected elements around corridors can be disentangled and the most promising corridor proposals—the ones with the greatest wider economic benefits—can be selected.

Download or read book Gender Democracy and Institutional Development in Africa written by Njoki Nathani Wane and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-04-25 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses African foundations of gender, education, politics, democracy and institutional development by stimulating theoretical discourses. It offers a discursive framework on ways to examine the conceptualizations of African social development and a critical discourse on debunking the misconceptions that are attached to African location in the global arena. The volume challenges the danger of minimizing and oversimplifying the role of Africa in the international space. This will be ideal for researchers, students and scholars in the areas of African and gender studies, development, politics and education.

Download or read book The World Trade System written by Jagdish N. Bhagwati and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2016-12-12 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading trade esperts examine the world trading system today, from the multilateralism of the WTO to explosive bilateralism and the mega-regionals TPP and TTIP. When the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) metamorphosed into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994, it seemed that the third pillar of the international economic superstructure was finally in place. And yet with the failure of member countries to close the Doha Round of trade negotiations and the emergence of bilateral and plurilateral preferential trade arrangements (PTAs) such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the future of the multilateral WTO seems uncertain. In this volume, leading economists examine issues in trade policy that have arisen during this shift. The contributors discuss such topics as the effect of trade on poverty and inequality, PTAs and litigation between trading partners, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, and the relationship of food security and trade liberalization. They also offer regional perspectives on the TPP and trans-Atlantic free trade. Contributors Rahel Aichele, Jagdish Bhagwati, Steve Charnovitz, Gabriel Felbermayr Dimitar Gueorguiev, Bernard Hoekman, Jonas Kasteng, Pravin Krishna, Mary Lovely, Petros Mavroidis, Devashish Mitra, Arvind Panagariya, Tom Prusa, Andre Sapir, Stefan Tangermann

Download or read book Fostering Trade in Africa written by Gbadebo O.A. Odularu and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-03-09 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses trade relations and facilitation issues at both the regional and the continental African level, highlighting the increasing business opportunities and challenges that confront Africa in the digital age. It also examines the effects of trade policies and other policy instruments on Africa’s economic development and presents workable policy measures for a more business-friendly ecosystem. Discussing various topics, including trade relations between African countries, African and international trade agreements, and trade liberalization policies, the book appeals to scholars of economics, business and management as well as professionals and policymakers interested in fostering free trade and sustainable business development in Africa.

Download or read book The Thika Highway Improvement Project written by Renard Teipelke and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-04 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theory and practice of high-capacity infrastructure projects are the major focus in the development of countries in the Global South. Aiming at a more fine-grained understanding of such projects, Renard Teipelke studies the Thika Highway Improvement Project (THIP) and its outcomes in the peri-urban Northern Nairobi Metropolitan Region. The THIP is a large transportation infrastructure project that expanded the dual carriageway Thika Road into an eight-lane highway from 2008 until 2012. Based on a strategic mix of methodological approaches, such as interviews with experts in Kenya, literature research and field visits, the ‘black box’ THIP is opened up. In the empirical analysis, the project’s idea, its design, and its implementation are studied. It is concluded that the project’s outcomes are ambivalent – partly living up to the expectations of THIP proponents but not resulting in shared benefits for all concerned stakeholders due to flaws in managing the development in this peri-urban transport corridor area, thereby fitting into the Kenyan context of politics and planning.

Download or read book Aid on the Edge of Chaos written by Ben Ramalingam and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2013-10-24 with total page 661 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is widely recognised that the foreign aid system - which today involves every country in the world - is in need of drastic change. But there are conflicting opinions as to what is needed. Some call for dramatic increases in resources, to meet long-overdue commitments, and to scale up what is already being done around the world. Others point to the flaws in aid, and bang the drum for cutting it altogether - and argue that the fate of poor and vulnerable people be best placed in the hands of markets and the private sector. Meanwhile, growing numbers are suggesting that what is most needed is the creative, innovative transformation of how aid works. Aid on the Edge of Chaos is firmly in the third of these camps. In this ground-breaking book, Ben Ramalingam shows that the linear, mechanistic models and assumptions on which foreign aid is built would be more at home in early twentieth century factory floors than in the dynamic, complex world we face today. All around us, we can see the costs and limitations of dealing economies and societies as if they are analogous to machines. The reality is that such social systems have far more in common with ecosystems: they are complex, dynamic, diverse and unpredictable. Many thinkers and practitioners in science, economics, business, and public policy have started to embrace more 'ecologically literate' approaches to guide both thinking and action, informed by ideas from the 'new science' of complex adaptive systems. Inspired by these efforts, there is an emerging network of aid practitioners, researchers, and policy makers who are experimenting with complexity-informed responses to development and humanitarian challenges. This book showcases the insights, experiences, and often remarkable results from these efforts. From transforming approaches to child malnutrition, to rethinking processes of economic growth, from building peace to combating desertification, from rural Vietnam to urban Kenya, Aid on the Edge of Chaos shows how embracing the ideas of complex systems thinking can help make foreign aid more relevant, more appropriate, more innovative, and more catalytic. Ramalingam argues that taking on these ideas will be a vital part of the transformation of aid, from a post-WW2 mechanism of resource transfer, to a truly innovative and dynamic form of global cooperation fit for the twenty-first century.