Recent theoretical literature suggests that aid, geography, and resource endowments affect diversification of exports in Africa. The paper examines the validity of these popular views using a System-GMM methodology and panel data for African countries. The evidence suggests that aid, the quality...

Computable general equilibrium models are widely used for trade policy analyses and recommendations. There is, however, increasing discomfort with the use of these models, especially in Africa. This article demonstrates that the results of several such studies of the impact of trade reforms in...

The authors show that an increase in international borrowing increases specialization and unemployment in a small open economy that is subject to terms-of-trade risks. The economy has a production advantage in the export sector. However, the size of the export sector is limited by the available...

Erosion of trade preferences currently being enjoyed by LDCs and some developing countries remain an important area in the on-going trade negotiations. The different positions regarding the preference erosion question besides being informed by political economy considerations are also founded on...

There are plans by five West African countries to establish a second monetary zone in the sub-region by December 2009. In this paper we ask whether a monetary union is the appropriate exchange rate regime for the sub-region based on economic criteria. We address the issue using a rigorous...

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,...