The selection: Wednesday, 2 December

COMESA’s Policy Organs meetings begin

The 35th COMESA Policy organs meetings have begun in Lusaka and will run until 8 December 2015. The Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Matters was the first to meet and will run for two days, 1 and 2 December 2015. About 100 delegates representing government of all the 19 COMESA Member States and COMESA institutions are participating in the meetings that are taking place at the COMESA Secretariat. The other Policy Organs that will follow are the Inter-Governmental Committee and Council of Ministers.

China and the African regional economic communities: transforming multilateral cooperation (CCS)

This policy brief highlights an alternative platform through which cooperation could be fostered. African Regional Economic Communities increase the bargaining power of African states, without losing the instrumental capacity of implementing and monitoring policies effectively. China’s engagement with the RECs would not only nurture regional integration, but also enhance China’s co-operation with Africa as a whole.

Doubts over African trade corridor plans (SciDev)

Huge trade corridors crisscrossing Africa could cause "irrevocable" environmental damage without realising many of their supposed development benefits, say researchers. Centred on the construction of major roads or railways, these 'development corridors' have been touted primarily as a way to boost agricultural markets, mineral exports and economic integration. But an analysis of 33 planned or existing corridors in Sub-Saharan Africa found only five "promising" candidates that are likely to substantially increase farm production without serious side effects. In the study, another six were labelled "inadvisable" due to negligible agricultural benefits and high environmental costs, while the net benefits of the remaining 22 corridors were judged "marginal" by the team from James Cook University in Australia. [Download]

Related: The African Governance and Space project (AFRIGOS), Braai in the no-man’s land of Namibia and Zambia (New Political Geographies)

Priorities for small and vulnerable economies in the WTO: Nairobi and beyond (Commonwealth Secretariat)

Small, vulnerable economies are those WTO members that, in the period 1999 to 2004, had an average share of (a) world merchandise trade of no more than 0.16% or less, (b) world trade in non-agricultural products of no more than 0.1%, and (c) world trade in agricultural products of no more than 0.4%. In the Commonwealth, there are 31 small states, defined as sovereign countries usually with a population of 1.5 million people or fewer.

Ethiopia's manufacturing sector (AfDB)

The main objectives of this study are twofold: to provide a diagnostic and analytical assessment of the current status of the manufacturing sector in Ethiopia, and to contribute to the process of analysis and policy formulation by identifying binding factors, constraints, opportunities and strengths for the development of the sector in Ethiopia. The service sector continues to be the main engine of growth of the economy. Despite the strong policy emphasis on agriculture, its contribution to overall growth has not been commensurate with its share in GDP. The contribution of the manufacturing sector to growth, employment and exports has remained minimal. In addition, reflecting declining sectoral terms of trade, the manufacturing sector share of GDP (in current prices) has shrunk.

Manufacturing exports not only represent a relatively low percentage of total merchandise exports, but also the share has shown a declining trend in recent years. Ethiopia exports very few manufactured commodities compared with the Eastern African average and selected Asian countries, indicating both a low manufacturing production base and a lack of competitiveness of the sector. Ethiopia’s manufacturing export is one of the least diversified compared to its potential global competitors. Moreover, there has been comparatively little progress in diversifying the export mix. This slow change in the export dynamics may have been due to the low level of market and product innovation of entrepreneurs as reflected by the dominance of resource-based manufacturing exports. [Companion reports from the AfDB series can be accessed here]

Ethiopia: selected issues (IMF)

Ethiopia’s experience is a case in point for the complex interaction between inequality and growth. Unlike other rapidly growing economies, the country has not experienced a significant increase in inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, even as poverty reduction occurred at a rapid pace. The government’s development plans have had a strong focus on inclusive growth, together with an increase in pro-poor spending. Yet, structural transformation and poverty reduction may require the implementation of reforms that could lead to an increase in income disparities. This highlights the potential policy trade-offs between growth and inequality. The objective of this paper is twofold.

Botswana: Country Partnership Framework FY16-20 (World Bank)

The new CPF will guide the World Bank Group’s support to Botswana in addressing its national priorities of eradicating abject poverty, reducing inequality, and promoting job creation. The CPF is firmly anchored in the priorities identified by the WBG’s Systematic Country Diagnostics for Botswana and the government’s national development plans. Guided by these priorities and building on successful cooperation to date, the CPF proposes a strong program of technical and financial support focusing on private sector-led growth and jobs, strengthening human and physical assets, and effective resource management. [Download]

A dangerous divide: the state of inequality in Malawi (Oxfam)

This report examines the sharp rise in inequality in Malawi between 2004/5 and 2010/11, and models the link between poverty, inequality and growth from 2015 to 2020. It analyses inequality in Malawi across a number of dimensions, including education, health, wealth and income/ consumption, and also looks at how inequality is reinforced by corruption, gender inequity and an unequal distribution of political power. The authors warn that unless the government takes action, many more Malawians will live in poverty by 2020.

South Sudan: post-conflict recovery of the private sector (World Bank Blogs)

While the recent peace agreement will hopefully ensure more stability and security, efforts to foster an enabling business and regulatory environment need to be stepped up in order to gain tangible peace dividends. A conducive regulatory environment can be qualified as an external driver of private sector growth. A strategic enabler would be Public Private Dialogue. Stories abound of the private sector's resilience during the war. The South Sudan Business Forum didn’t seem to be affected, either. Working groups kept on going and the Chamber of Commerce, together with the South Sudan Business Union, created the Emergency Response Committee. However, the fiscal situation of the government and the struggling private sector are affecting the sustainability of SSBF.

Sudan: unilateral sanctions hit innocent harder than political elites, warns UN rights expert (UN News Centre)

Not so easy: Doing business in Nigeria (ThisDay)

To improve our dispute resolution mechanisms and increase our ease of doing business, there must be a concerted effort to improve on our justice delivery system, case management procedures in the various courts, modern court infrastructure in the courts and arbitration centres and furthermore there should be a limit to the challenge of arbitral awards in the courts which can be achieved by conducting an enlightenment campaign for judges on international arbitration and finally, there should be a focus on training in arbitration at the University and Law School.

Kenya: Treasury puts cargo stations control directive on hold (Business Daily)

The Kenya Ports Authority has retained the right to intervene and re-direct suspect cargo consignments to any private holding station despite a move by the Treasury to defer the implementation of the controversial directive aimed at curbing revenue leaks at such facilities.

UK logistics firm Atlas closes Kenya subsidiaries, shifts focus to Ethiopia (Daily Nation)

Sustainable value chains (GREAT Insights)

This issue of GREAT Insights brings a range of reflections and insights on these questions, related to current international dynamics, the various dimensions of sustainability and development of GVCs, the need for diversification and upgrading in resource-based developing economies and to foster regional integration. It also highlights some key considerations on the role of trade policy in general, the role of donors, and the EU in particular.

Global value chains and the exchange rate elasticity of exports (IMF)

Using a panel framework covering 46 countries over the period 1996-2012, we first find some suggestive evidence that the elasticity of real manufacturing exports to the Real Effective Exchange Rate has decreased over time. We then examine whether the formation of supply chains has affected this elasticity using different measures of GVC integration. Intuitively, as countries are more integrated in global production processes, a currency depreciation only improves competitiveness of a fraction of the value of final good exports. In line with this intuition, we find evidence that GVC participation reduces the REER elasticity of manufacturing exports by 22%, on average.

Addressing barriers to digital trade (E15 Initiative)

COP21 updates: Ban tells African leaders they have ‘enormous stake’ in success of climate conference (UN News Centre), AU introduces $20bn renewable energy plan (Bloomberg), Taking stock of evolutions in the trade and climate relationship (BioRes), What has climate to fear from trade? (BioRes), The TerrAfrica Partnership (World Bank)

Climate change and developing country interests: cases from the Zambezi River Basin (UNU-WIDER)

We consider the interplay of climate change impacts, global mitigation policies, and the interests of developing countries to 2050. Focusing on Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, we employ a structural approach to biophysical and economic modeling that incorporates climate uncertainty and allows for rigorous comparison of climate, biophysical, and economic outcomes across global mitigation regimes. We find that effective global mitigation policies generate two sources of benefit:

Sub-Saharan Africa: stocktaking of the housing sector (World Bank)

Africa faces a major housing crisis due to rapid urbanization and a growing slum population. New, targeted approaches to affordable housing are necessary if countries want to take advantage of the demographic shift to make cities inclusive, spur economic growth and expand job opportunities, according to a new report by the World Bank Group. The report, Stocktaking of the Housing Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, projects that Africa could have as many as 1.2 billion urban dwellers by 2050 and 4.5 million new residents in informal settlements each year, most of whom cannot afford basic formal housing or access mortgage loans.

Amazing facts on Urban Africa from day one and two of Africities summit (M&G Africa)

BRICS bank set to issue first loans (Business Report)

SA in the queue as BRICS bank gears up to lend (Business Day)

Mozambique's Minister of Trade: 'Energy sector is the anchor for diversifying growth' (Club of Mozambique)

Cameroon: towards a new World Bank Group strategy

L’examen de la politique d’investissement de la République de Madagascar (UNCTAD)

Swaziland: Private Sector Competitiveness project update(World Bank)

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This post has been sourced on behalf of tralac and disseminated to enhance trade policy knowledge and debate. It is distributed to over 300 recipients across Africa and internationally, serving in the AU, RECS, national government trade departments and research and development agencies. Your feedback is most welcome. Any suggestions that our recipients might have of items for inclusion are most welcome. Richard Humphries (Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @richardhumphri1)