The heterogeneity of southern African countries offers the region a unique opportunity to exploit agricultural potential and trade opportunities through regional integration. We analyze the implications of such opportunities using a regional general equilibrium model. We find that growth in...

The stumbling-bloc argument asserts that regionalism hinders MFN tariff cutting. If this was of first-order importance over previous decades, we should detect this in the levels of the tariffs. Using tariff line data for 23 large trading nations we find that MFN and PTA tariffs are complements,...

This paper explores the growth implications of regional integration. From the theory, it identifies the ‘footprints’ that such growth should leave in the data. It then checks the data on the four poor EU nations for such footprints. Prima facie evidence for Ireland, Portugal and Spain...

The potential benefit of several regional integration initiatives undertook by African countries in recent years is a contentious issue that is continuously being debated. This article assesses the impact of a free trade agreement between member countries of the Southern African Development...