This report, part of the “Cities” collection, highlights the contribution of border towns to the process of regional integration in West Africa. For 18 countries, six indicators are used to identify the specificities of border towns at the local, national and international levels:...

This report, part of the “Cities” collection, analyses the spatial distribution of formal enter¬prises and health infrastructure in West Africa. The analysis shows that sectors crucial for regional integration are concentrated in economic capitals rather than in border areas. These results...

This report looks at procedures and processes related to non-tariff measures in agricultural trade. Based on the prior that countries are likely to make efforts to reduce the trade hindering effects of domestic food regulation within regional trade agreements, we focus on three different RTAs,...

Deepening regional integration within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will raise potential growth for all member countries. Integrated economies will increase market size, trade opportunities and improve resource allocation across member countries. Key pillars of functioning...

Global value chains (GVCs) in agriculture and food sectors contribute to sector growth and development. However, agricultural trade is subject to significant distortions that limit trade which in turn impacts on its competitiveness world-wide. Using the OECD Metro model, this study analyses the...

Examines the state of economic integration in South Asia and identifies potential areas for further strengthening subregional linkages. Focusing on the four pillars of ESCAP strategy to deepen regional cooperation and integration, the publication provides recommendations on policy actions...

Urbanisation in China has long been held back by various restrictions on land and internal migration but has taken off since the 1990s, as these impediments started to be gradually relaxed. People have moved in large numbers to richer cities, where productivity is higher and has increased...

The concept of megaregions is increasingly put forward among academics and policy makers as a new scale of economic co-ordination and social organisation. A megaregion is most commonly understood as an economic unit that comprises an agglomeration of cities and its less dense hinterlands, which...

This report, part of the “Cities” collection, provides an analysis of the demographic and morphological changes in West African border cities since the mid-20th century. Using the Africapolis harmonised database makes it possible to show that since 1950 border cities have experienced higher...