Sökformulär

Ekonomi

The development dimension or disillusion : The EU's development policy goals and the Economic Partnership Agreements

Upphovsperson: Stocchetti, Marikki
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2007
Ämnesord: Partnership, International negotiations, Economic agreements, Trade agreements, international trade, Economic and social development, Sustainable development, Business and economics, Ekonomi
The EU and the ACP countries aim to conclude the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) by the end of December 2007. All parties agree that these trading arrangements are meant to be first and foremost “development instruments”. However, their positions differ greatly on how the EPAs will impact on theultimate goal of poverty reduction. In this policy note Marikki Stocchetti addresses the key issues of this disagreement.

A new scramble for Africa? Imperialism, investment and development

Medarbetare: Southall, Roger | Melber, Henning
Utgivare: Scottsville, South Africa : Published by the UKZN Press with support from the Nordic Africa Institute
År: 2009
Ämnesord: international economic relations, Foreign investment, natural resources, resources exploitation, Geopolitics, Imperialism, Economic dependence, Business and economics, Ekonomi
Dramatically escalating prices of raw materials, driven by rapid industrialisation in China and other countries of the global South as well as by looming world shortages, had for the few years preceding the financial meltdown and global recession of 2009 promoted a new scramble for Africa’s natural resources. It signalled a brisk turnaround in prospects for what The Economist had dubbed the ‘hopeless continent’ as recently as 1999. However, while average growth rates across the continent have increased, the implications for Africa’s development were and remain at best dubious. In this important volume, the new scramble for Africa is placed in the historical context of imperialism and the contributors show important continuities with the original nineteenth-century scramble. However, while the previous scramble was between major European powers, today the continent provides a battleground for competition between the US, the European Union, China and other emerging players such as India and South Africa. This book raises significant general questions relating to the nature of emerging global competition between the US and China; the centrality of the struggle for oil and minerals and resulting militarisation; the international battle to capture Africa’s markets; the marginalisation of African capitalism; and the ambiguous benefits that investment and production by multinational companies bring to African communities. Arguing that exploitation of the continent by comprador African elites remains central, the book concludes by raising important questions about the prospects for development in Africa.

Situating the EPA negotiations : Issues and unresolved debates in Africa-EU trade relations

Upphovsperson: Goodison, Paul
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: international trade, International negotiations, Economic agreements, Trade agreements, Common markets, Structural adjustment, Sustainable development, Poverty alleviation, Africa, European Union, Business and economics, Ekonomi
For a long time it has been necessary to move beyond sterile debates for or against Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The real issue is: what kind of EPAs will support African governments in their efforts to promote the structural transformation of their economies, so that they can move beyond the production of simple and unprocessed products to the production of a range of higher value products, for national, regional and international markets, and in the process help them tackle poverty and employment issues. This paper seeks to situate the ongoing EPA negotiations and debate around contentious issues in the context of the wider European Union (EU) trade policy and African aspirations for sustainable development and poverty reduction.

The African economy and its role in the world economy

Upphovspersoner: Bigsten, Arne | Durevall, Dick
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2008
Ämnesord: Economic performance, international economic relations, international trade, Capital movements, Globalization, Structural adjustment, Economic and social development, Policy making, Africa South of Sahara, Sweden, Business and economics, Ekonomi
In a broad survey this issue of Current African Issues presents a multifaceted picture of the current state of the African economy. After a period of falling per capita incomes that started in the 1970s, Africa finally saw a turnaround from about 1995. The last few years have seen average per capita incomes in Africa grow by above 3 per cent per year on average, partly due to the resource boom but also due to improved economic policies. Africa receives more aid per capita than any other major region in the world and there is a significantly positive effect of aid on growth. One of the most notable aspects of the current process of globalisation is the increase in trade between Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, particularly China and India. The authors conclude with a call for policy coherence among donors. The politically most problematic areas for policy change of those discussed in the paper are not aid policy but trade policy and the European Union CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). This is a challenge to EU policy makers, since the latter areas are probably the most important to change if we take our commitment to development seriously.

Sidor