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The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the tension between large development needs in infrastructure and scarce public resources. To alleviate this tension and promote a strong and job-rich recovery from the crisis, Africa needs to mobilize more financing from and to the private sector.
This Selected Issues paper describes Uganda’s experience under the 2013 Policy Support Instrument (PSI). The current 2013 PSI was approved by the IMF’s Executive Board in June 2013 with an initial duration of three years. Overall, performance under this PSI has been assessed to be satisfactory. Most quantitative assessment criteria were met, and macroeconomic stability maintained. However, the pace of structural reforms slowed down compared with the past, and only about half of the structural benchmarks were ultimately met. The experience shows the importance of ensuring commitment to the reforms, explaining them better, and getting broad-based buy-in to achieve progress.
Part I of this report discusses the short- and medium-term growth prospects for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The region is expected to grow at a subdued rate of 0.6 percent in 2019, rising to 2.6 percent in 2020 and 2.9 percent in 2021. The growth forecast for 2019 is revised down by 0.8 percentage points from the April 2019 projection. MENA’s economic outlook is subject to substantial downside risks—most notably, intensified global economic headwinds and rising geopolitical tensions. Part II argues that promoting fair competition is key for MENA countries to complete the transition from an administered to a market economy. Part II first examines current competition policies in MENA countries and to promote fair competition calls for strengthening competition law and enforcement agencies. It also calls for corporatizing state-owned enterprises, promoting the private sector and creating a level-playing field between them. Any moves to reform MENA economies would be aided by professional management of public assets, which could tap into a new source of national wealth.
In 2019, African heads of state and governments launched in fanfare the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), a historic agreement for economic transformation across the continent. But now comes the hard bit: how to make the agreement a success? In this book, senior experts from across the world come together to provide a comprehensive analysis of the conditions needed for AfCFTA to successfully spur economic development in Africa. It puts forward three foundations for success: demography dividend, digital economy, and economic diversification. In addition to trade policy, the book recommends that African policymakers should strengthen fiscal and monetary policy coordination, ad...
This paper contributes to the literature by introducing the role of geographic concentration of the source of remittances. Specifically, using data over 2010-2015 for 72 developing countries, we study the impact of (i) large remittances and (ii) the geographic concentration of the source of remittances on economic volatilities. Results suggest that while (i) large remittances can be stabilizing on average, (ii) high remittance concentration from source countries can aggravate economic volatilities in recipient countries. Results are robust to global shocks affecting both source and recipient countries, and volatility in the remittance-sending country.
African Political Economy in the Twenty-First Century: Theories, Perspectives, and Issues edited by Emeka C. Iloh, Ernest T. Aniche, and Stephen N. Azom fills the gap in the discourses on African political economy from an African perspective. Since the end of colonialism in the second half of the twenty-first century, a wide-ranging debate has opened on the future of African development and the nature and character of its political economy, especially as it concerns its web of relationships in the international political and economic system. Two decades into the twenty-first21st century, the debate still rages on and is likely to continue for a long time. This book contributes to the debate by addressing the important question of how African countries can strategically and tactically approach global political economy at multilateral, continental, and regional levels in view of North-South versus South-South configurations. African Political Economy in the Twenty-First Century further suggests how African countries can effectively utilize global forces to Africa’s advantage in advancing domestic, regional, and continental development objectives.
Growth in sub-Saharan Africa has recovered relative to 2016, but the momentum is weak and per capita incomes are expected to barely increase. Further, vulnerabilities have risen in many countries, adding to the urgency of implementing the fiscal consolidations planned in most countries and with stepped up efforts to strengthen growth.
The Complex Interplay between Power, Politics, and African Agency: The Philosophy of Toyin Falola by Serges Djoyou Kamga examines the impact of colonialism by using Toyin Falola’s philosophy as a framework. It delves into the evolution of African political culture under colonial rule. This book offers a unique perspective on the intricate dynamics of African society, providing a deeper understanding of how power and politics have shaped African culture. Kamga emphasizes the complex interplay between these elements and highlights the significance of African voices in determining their own destiny. Using Falola’s works, this book analyzes and critiques the influence of Europe and establishes the ongoing unequal relationship between ex-colonized African countries and their imperialist colonizers. This book is highly recommended for scholars of African studies, political science, and anyone interested in African history and culture.
Trade is an essential driver of economic transformation, growth, and prosperity. At a time of global uncertainty and policy fluidity, this comprehensive volume demystifies African trade and trade policy to provide a deeper understanding of how trade impacts the lives of all Africans and the continent’s development aspirations. Featuring a wealth of data-driven evaluations of trade negotiations and policy choices, How Africa Trades is an invaluable open access resource for making sense of the continent’s major trade challenges, including commodity dependence, competitiveness, and how African countries engage with often unconducive international trade rules that distort global markets. In-depth analysis focuses on intra-African trade initiatives, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), trade between African countries and their major trading partners, and how the short-term shocks of Covid-19 restrictions brought about longer-term changes in informal and formal trade patterns, and sped-up shifts in digital trade.
This book compares the experiences of the Philippines and Vietnam to gain insight into how openness to trade and financing can increase prosperity. In contrast, theoretical and empirical work in the 20th and early 21st centuries have returned mixed results regarding this assertion. The book also demonstrates the impracticality of any attempt to pursue prosperity in isolation. Chapter 1 discusses recent data and research on international trade and capital mobility. Chapter 2 describes the economy of Vietnam that has grown rapidly since beginning to open in 1994. Chapter 3 relates the stagnation of the Philippines as it remained closed from 1960 to 1994 and examines the recent rapid growth in spite of the continued relative restrictiveness of Philippine policy. Chapter 4 compares the two experiences and then conjectures about the feasibility of a prosperous autarky.