The countries of the Southern African Customs Union have relatively diverse demographic and economic starting points. These economies have the potential to realize demographic dividends and experience an acceleration in their income per capita growth and poverty reduction progress through...

Evidence indicates that trade costs are a much more substantial barrier to trade than tariffs are, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper decomposes trade costs into: (i) trade facilitation, (ii) non-tariff barriers, and (iii) the costs of business services. The paper assesses the poverty...

Using data from the AfroBarometer survey, this chapter derives measures of overall well-being for six Eastern African countries (Burundi, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique) for which enough data were available to take a broad enough view of well-being. Correspondence analysis...

Plastics are ubiquitous across the region and play an important role in multiple industries. Most plastic products are based on a value chain that is grounded in petroleum refining, posing an environmental challenge. Plastic manufacturing in South Africa suffers from the high cost of polymers as...

"The history of mass-market diamonds goes back to German imperialism in Southwest Africa. Corporate power and state violence combined in the genocide of the Herero and Nama peoples, whose mineral-rich land supplied budding consumer demand in the United States. Steven Press makes clear that mass...

Despite more than two decades of economic integration efforts, levels of spatial development inequality remain high within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Owing to persistent delays in the implementation of the SADC integration agenda, infrastructure connectivity is still...

World biofuel production has been increasing to improve energy security and mitigate global warming. Southern Africa's bioenergy demand could increase with South Africa's planned fuel blending mandates, triggering increased demand for feedstocks and agricultural land. Ensuring sustained...