Widespread food insecurity remains a daunting challenge in Africa, despite significant gains in global efforts to eliminate hunger over the last three decades. This paper examines the effects of easing trade across borders – through reductions in documents, time, and costs to export and import...

Rising food prices cause considerable policy dilemmas for developing country governments. Letting domestic prices adjust to reflect the full change in international prices generates inflationary pressures and causes severe hardship for poor households lacking access to social safety nets....

This paper analyzes the impacts of adopting restrictive import policies for chicken meat in Ghana, which would be like the policies adopted in Nigeria. A prohibitive tariff stimulates domestic chicken meat production but also imposes significant costs on consumers and encourages illicit trade....

This paper investigates the determinants of the real exchange rate (RER) in Ethiopia. In particular, it assesses whether large capital inflows (e.g. foreign aid and remittances) have an impact on the RER. This empirical exercise tries to improve the current literature in a number of ways: (i)...

Trade policy has been a very contentious issue in the discourse on African development. Using panel data for 33 African countries spanning the period 1986-2000, we examine the relationship between trade liberalization and macroeconomic instability in Africa. We focus on instabilities in output,...

Facilitating trade is essential for Africa's economic development and further integration into the world economy, as business in Africa still suffers from behind-the-border barriers to trade. Using firm level data from the World Bank's Enterprise surveys covering more than 6,500 manufacturing...

Two issues stand out in this conversation. The first concerns the unfinished business of the global fight against the scourge of poverty, which impacts one region more than most: Africa. At the same time, a key pre-requisite for economic performance - affordable and efficient public...

This paper presents theory and evidence to show that imperialism was a major factor impeding the spread of the industrial revolution during the century ending in the 1950s. Two empirical results stand out. First, analysis of historical evidence shows that most sovereign countries were...

Export growth is pursued by many developing countries as a path to economic prosperity. Consistent with this goal, many foreign donors have attempted to use aid to promote African exporters. The relationship between foreign aid and exports is a complex one as aid comes from different sources and...

In view of the global run on African resources the EU is at pains to conclude Economic Partnership Programs with African states up to October 2014. The EPAs are meant not just to liberalize trade but also to promote economic development in Africa and thus creating a win-win situation in a...