This paper aims at estimating the economic vulnerability of developing countries to disruptions in global value chains (GVCs) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It uses data on trade in value-added for a sample of 12 developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America to assess their...

This paper studies the relationship between Asia’s economic engagements in Africa and individual African nations’ participation in global value chains (GVC) over the past two decades. We find that while overall exports from Africa to Asia are still highly concentrated in resource-intensive...

This paper investigates the contribution of financial development for African countries' participation in global value chains (GVCs). It relies on a review of the theoretical and empirical literature that can shed light on the mechanisms whereby financial development affects value-added trade. A...

How will the COVID-19 pandemic affect prospects for foreign investment and development in Africa? In part this depends on its interaction with pre-existing metatrends in the global economy, such as the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). It will also depend on the nature of revisions to...

This analysis of the extent of trade integration of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries in the global economy as well as within the region over the 1995-2013 period focuses on four key concepts: (1) trade openness, captured by import and export flows; (2) the centrality in the global and...