The long-term decline in political instability continued in 2006 and armed conflicts, though still widespread, have diminished. Multiparty elections have taken place in several African countries and progress towards participative democracy is encouraging. Progress in economic governance is still...

China’s and India’s strong appetite for energy and metal has boosted international prices and the volume and value of African exports. China in particular has become the main trade partner for a number of African countries providing cheap manufactured goods and reducing Africa's dependence...

Technological change and organisational advancements have made possible the greater participation of developing country producers in international trade, in a wide range of goods and services. However, firms based in industrial countries often determine the scope for insertion and upgrading of...

Transport infrastructure has been dangerously neglected in recent times. Lack of transport infrastructure impedes economic integration and poverty reduction. Involving the private sector in financing the transport infrastructure is proving harder than anticipated.

• Regional integration in sub-Saharan Africa is becoming a vehicle for enhancing private investment through confidence building. Setting clear and easy-to-track priorities is key to achieving these policy goals. • Regional policy harmonisation or joint infrastructure projects are needed to...

The emergence of a “second wave” of developing-country multinational enterprises (MNEs) in a variety of industries is one of the characterizing features of globalisation. These new MNEs did not delay their internationalisation until they were large, as did most of their predecessors, and...

It is relatively easy to assess the progress, achievements, and possible future direction of an existing regional integration pact. However, evaluating the prospects for a successful revival of the East African Community (EAC), a regional integration scheme that collapsed in 1977, is arguably a...

WTO membership and closer integration with the European Union in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership are reinforcing pressures on MEDA countries to improve their competitive position. Privatisation, regulatory reform, and the creation of independent regulatory agencies in telecoms...

Large Western corporations have long invested overseas to penetrate markets, seek resources, and increase efficiency. After the explosion of inward FDI to the South in the 1990s, it is now the turn of the largest companies from emerging and transition economies, including the so-called BRICs, to...

This Technical Paper analyses the main policy issues raised by regulatory reform in air transport in sub–Saharan Africa. Its basic premise is that improving air infrastructure is of paramount importance for the region as it tries to integrate more thoroughly into the world economy. On the...