Despite some growth, intra-African trade activity remains at low levels and falls far behind the levels of internal trade observed in more integrated regions like the EU. The European continent remains a major trading partner, but its share in total African exports and imports has decreased from...

China’s aid to Africa receives significant attention from policymakers, development practitioners, and observers worldwide. This is even more the case since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, given China’s importance as a donor of vaccines, ventilators, face masks, disinfectants, and...

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls on countries to report on an extensive set of indicators, aimed at ensuring that no one is 'left behind', yet today, nearly halfway towards the end, most countries are struggling to produce the required data. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate...

Religion is not the focus of many policy minded economists studying sub-Saharan Africa; yet, there are important overlaps. The economics of religion is a growing sub-field which provides new tools and theories to explore the ways religious beliefs and practices affect economic outcomes. This...

In the last three decades, agrifood value chains (AVCs) have expanded and transformed in developing regions. AVC transformation across Africa has created huge markets for farmers, along with employment in various supply chain segments, including food processing, wholesaling, and logistics...

Opportunities for well-paid employment for women are scarce in many African countries. Entrepreneurship is therefore one way in which women can earn a decent livelihood for themselves and their families. Despite the potential opportunities arising from entrepreneurship, the possibilities are...

With the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), regional economic integration in Africa has captured international attention and raised high hopes. In the new book "Regional Integration, Trade and Industry in Africa", the present state of economic integration on the continent...

In most developing countries, politicians are mostly male, whose politics revolves around male household heads. The system does not stop women from voting, but politicians do not campaign directly for the female vote. A campaign run by a politician in Pakistan focusing only on women increased...

The impacts of the "COVID-19 shock" on African economies are unfolding rapidly and can be expected to vary widely by country. The effects can be divided into indirect effects depending on countries' exposure to international trade, tourism and FDI in particular; and direct effects depending on...

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased substantially over the past decades and so has FDI in Africa. However, still only 3 percent of global FDI stocks and 1 percent of German FDI is located in Africa. There are several policy instruments that can contribute to higher investment in...