Trade Liberalization and Poverty in Sudan

The current paper reviews poverty issues and economic development in Sudan. The conclusions focus on the conception that unless Sudan increases his economic activity and hence employment, the economic situation will see more deteriorations. Applying marker economy and trade liberalization policies will not help, more feasibly it will worsen food security and employment rates. The declining trend in international trade taxes resulting from trade liberalization typically would have a serious negative impact on the government budget in general, and on expenditure on education, health and transfers to the poorer segments of the society. This is likely to contribute to the aggravation of absolute poverty. The experience of trade liberalization in African countries underscores the need for proper tax policy responses and macroeconomic stability to contain the negative fiscal effects of trade liberalization. When the market structure of agricultural exports is oligopolistic, as in most African countries, trade monopolies, not the producers are the main beneficiaries of any increase in the price of exports resulting from trade liberalization. It is concluded that improvements of incidence of poverty cannot be separated from the institutional and political make-up of a country