international trade

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.

Africa, regional cooperation and the world market : socio-economic strategies in times of global trade regimes

Upphovspersoner:	Brüntrup, Michael | Melber, Henning | Taylor, Ian
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2006
Ämnesord:	Regional cooperation, international trade, Trade liberalization, Globalization, international economic relations, regional integration, agricultural markets, European Union, NEPAD, Senegal, Africa, Business and economics, Ekonomi

Under the regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), local and regional policies are increasingly determined by global factors. One example is the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). It stresses an earlier notion of African Renaissance, which includes the emphasis on collective self-reliance, but at the same time seeks closer cooperation with the global trade system and its international agencies. Bi- and multilateral trade relations between external actors and individual African states or regional blocs are becoming ever more decisive. This is also true of the more recently negotiated Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) in the post-Lomé era of EU-African relations. In light of such trends the question of coherence between trade as aid and other areas of development strategy and cooperation remains to be answered. The contributions to this Discussion Paper reflect upon related matters of socio-economically viable strategies seeking to reconcile the global and the regional in an African perspective. They were originally presented to the Panel 'Regional Cooperation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Between Collective Self-Reliance and Global Trade Regimes'” organised by the Nordic Africa Institute within the 11th General Conference of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) in September 2005 in Bonn.

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