Many recent papers have pointed to ambiguous trade effects of developing regional trade agreements (RTAs), calling for a reassessment of their economic merits. The author focuses on seven such agreements currently in force in Sub-Saharan Africa (ECOWAS and SADC), Asia (AFTA and SAPTA) and Latin...

This study aims to draw key lessons for the African Continental Free Trade Area using evidence from within the region. Although drawing lessons from the rest of the world is essential, given the unique features of economies in the Africa region, the most relevant lessons can be drawn from the...

Sourcing intermediate goods efficiently is essential for a country's production capacity. Countries located in a neighborhood providing a wide range of intermediate goods cheaply available can take advantage of scale economies to reduce their production costs and improve their global...

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Acronyms and Abbreviations -- Executive Summary -- 1. The Need for Central Asian Countries to Diversify Their Trade -- Recent Export Performance -- Diversification Potential -- 2. The Constraints Facing Central Asian Leading Cities -- The Constraints to...

Many recent papers have pointed to ambiguous trade effects of developing regional trade agreements (RTAs), calling for a reassessment of their economic merits. The author focuses on seven such agreements currently in force in Sub-Saharan Africa (ECOWAS and SADC), Asia (AFTA and SAPTA) and Latin...

Many recent papers have pointed to ambiguous trade effects of developing regional trade agreements, calling for a reassessment of their economic merits. This paper focuses on 22 RTAs involving mostly developing countries and covering all the continents and use trade flows over the period...