Foreign Trade, FDI, and Capital Flows Study

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Niger: Leveraging Export Diversification to Foster Growth

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-12-09) World Bank

Niger’s Vision 2035 acknowledges the country has little choice but to create ‘a competitive anddiversified economy.’ Economic diversification is a cornerstone component of the Economic Orientation Document (EOD) 2016-19 and the PDES 2017-21. The EOD defines Niger’s economic diversification as moving exports away from natural resources and increasing the value-added component of exports as the foundation for its agro-based industrialization and employment creation policies. Hence, an exports diversification strategy is akin to the country’s economic diversification and, not surprisingly, the PDES contains several axes of policy interventions supporting it. However, Niger faces serious structural challenges to diversify into new productive activities. The country is landlocked, exporting costs are high and, given multiple infrastructure and logistics gaps, access to markets is difficult beyond neighboring regional markets. Rapid population growth and low human capital turns into a low skilled population. Volatile economic growth, reliant on a few commodity exports that closely follow the vagaries of weather and boom and busts of international prices, makes hardly obtained poverty gains vulnerable.
Political Economy of Regional Integration in Sub-Saharan Africa

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02-01) Brenton, Paul ; Hoffman, Barak ; Brenton, Paul ; Hoffman, Barak

Regional integration in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is crucial for its further economic development and, more importantly, its structural transformation away from agriculture towards higher value-added activities, such as manufacturing and services. Yet there are many paths towards greater integration, some of which are easier than others. In order to gain insights into how regional integration is occurring in SSA, determine impediments to it, and develop recommendations for how the World Bank and other development agencies can help further facilitate it, the World Bank commissioned a set of political economy of regional integration studies covering sector analyses of agriculture, financial services, professional services, trade facilitation, and transport. This report summarizes the findings from the sector studies and suggests recommendations for further efforts in these areas by the World Bank and other development agencies. In a comparative context, the findings of the studies suggest cautious optimism for regional integration efforts in sub-Saharan Africa. Economic integration is more likely to succeed when it occurs alongside regional attempts at improving political stability and or developing joint infrastructure.
Republic of Sudan Diagnostic Trade Integration Study Update: Reducing Trade Costs to Increase Competitiveness and Rresilience

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-10-31) World Bank Group

The Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) update identifies priority actions in support of the Government of Sudan (GOS) commitment to increase trade and diversify the economy. The current study builds on the earlier 2008 DTIS by identifying the major factors holding back the increase of agricultural exports and economic diversification. The report identifies a package of measures that will support Sudan to more effectively realize its economic potential. The DTIS Update presents an updated action matrix that summarizes the recommended policy reforms. This matrix was validated with a wide variety of stakeholders in Khartoum in September 2014. Together, the action points will contribute to reducing trade costs, thereby enabling Sudanese enterprises and farmers to compete more successfully in regional and global markets and realize the GOS objectives of expanding and diversifying exports for increased economic growth. The recommendations accept that any changes in tariff schedules should be ‘revenue neutral,’ given the existing challenging fiscal situation.
Republic of Malawi Diagnostic Trade Integration Study Update : Reducing Trade Costs to Promote Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth

(Washington, DC, 2014-03-25) World Bank

The diagnostic trade integration study (DTIS) update identifies the trade related constraints holding back Malawi from diversifying and deepening its production base, and increasing trade. The DTIS update identifies and quantifies specific trade costs that determine the availability and price of inputs and the ability of producers to get their products to regional and international markets. The report focuses on tariff policies, regulatory issues impacting on trade, trade facilitation and logistics, and policies affecting agricultural trade and trade in services. Recognizing that the (enhanced) integrated framework and the DTIS (including the 2003 DTIS for Malawi) have not been effective in addressing many of the broader issues requiring large-scale physical investments in most countries, this DTIS update focuses on specific trade related policy and regulatory issues within the mandate and policy space of the ministry of trade and the national implementation unit or similar implementation mechanisms. In this context, the report is structured as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two outlines the current macroeconomic position and the level of trade openness, summarizes the status of the business enabling environment. Chapter three describes Malawi's current trade policy with a detailed review of the existing tariff schedules. Chapter four addresses a range of the key regulatory issues that raise costs for all producers in Malawi. Chapter five looks in depth at how the trade and regulatory policies within the agricultural sector impact on competitiveness. Finally, chapter six addresses the important issues of trade in services through focusing on professional services such as engineering, accounting, and law.
Economic and Statistical Analysis of Tourism in Uganda

(Washington, DC, 2013-07) World Bank Group

The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities (MTWA) instituted a sample survey of tourists exiting Uganda in 2012-the Tourism Expenditure and Motivation Survey (TEMS). This survey collected data on tourist expenditures, duration of stay, tourist activities, sites visited, levels of satisfaction, and suggestions for improvements in the sector. The purpose of this report is to present the results of the economic analysis of tourist expenditures, and the associated statistical analysis, to inform government decisions on how to increase the contribution that tourism makes to the growth of the Ugandan economy. The economic analysis of tourism based on the TEMS survey focuses on the impact of tourist expenditures on the economy. The scope is therefore limited to the impact of tourism exports, but these exports are important contributors to the development of the Ugandan economy, increasing foreign exchange earnings, and improving the balance of payments. The data show that leisure and cultural tourists spend 30 percent to 100 percent more than other types of tourists per visit to Uganda. This substantial difference in spending makes these tourists an attractive target in government efforts to increase the economic contribution of the tourism sector and reinforces the importance of strengthening the marketing of Ugandan tourism. The TEMS survey estimates that roughly 500,000 foreign tourists spent at least one night in Uganda in 2012, and nearly 75,000 of these were leisure or cultural tourists. In 2013 more than one million nonresidents visited Uganda, and it is estimated that about half of them of them stay at least one night. Tourists' overall satisfaction with their trip to Uganda is high. However, local transport in Uganda and insufficient visitor information are the most frequently cited sources of dissatisfaction and suggested areas for improvement.
Estimating Trade Flows, Describing Trade Relationships, and Identifying Barriers to Cross-Border Trade Between Cameroon and Nigeria

(Washington, DC, 2013-05-07) World Bank

Cameroon and Nigeria share a common border of nearly 1,700km and both countries have strong historical and cultural ties. However, the partnership between the two countries has had its difficult periods, most recently when the relationship turned hostile over the disputed Bakassi Peninsula, and economic linkages between the economies remain limited. Expanding trade between the two countries could play a critical role in accelerating economic development and regional integration by opening up new markets for producers, and allowing them to benefit from economies of scale. This will require reducing barriers to cross-border trade, allowing increased trade flows to reach the larger market, and permitting private sector producers to increase the scale of their activities. Removing barriers to trade between the two neighbors is likely to benefit particularly relatively remote areas of both countries. The study finds that regulatory and security barriers at the border and along the road remain key impediments to trade. The remainder of this report proceeds as follows. Section one describes drivers for cross border trade such as historical relations, economic factors, and the policy environment. The next section describes the reality of trade flows by describing existing trade corridors and estimating current trade flows. Section three describes how goods are actually traded across borders between the two countries, and how different actors are involved. Section four describes the barriers to trade, and identifies which barriers are most important. Section five describes the potential for increasing trade. Section six summarizes the findings and presents prioritized recommendations for policy reform.
Reshaping Economic Geography of East Africa : From Regional to Global Integration (Vol. 1 of 2)

(Washington, DC, 2012-06) World Bank

Five East African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda have made solid progress on integrating regionally in the East African Community (EAC) since 1999. Such advances are crucial, as integration in East Africa has the potential for higher than usual benefits: Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda are landlocked, with very high costs to their economies. Successful integration will transform the five countries into one coastal, regional economy, slashing such costs. Looking at the East African integration through the lens of economic geography helps to improve sequencing of the integration process and to develop new policies to complement ongoing efforts, maximizing their benefits. Reducing disparities in provision of social services will increase the chances of workers from the inland parts of the EAC to find jobs, especially as administrative obstacles to labor mobility are being removed under the Common Market Protocol. Implementing and deepening the current program of regional infrastructure improvements will ensure that consumers and producers throughout the region are better connected to each other and to global markets. Integration policies facilitating greater economic activity in the coastal areas will help the EAC take advantage of the global demand for manufactured goods and thus to promote employment. That will also generate substantial demand for services and agricultural goods produced inland, amplifying the benefits of the customs union.
Reshaping Economic Geography of East Africa : From Regional to Global Integration, Volume 2. Technical Annexes

(Washington, DC, 2012-06) World Bank

Five East African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda have made solid progress on integrating regionally in the East African Community (EAC) since 1999. Such advances are crucial, as integration in East Africa has the potential for higher than usual benefits: Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda are landlocked, with very high costs to their economies. Successful integration will transform the five countries into one coastal, regional economy, slashing such costs. Looking at the East African integration through the lens of economic geography helps to improve sequencing of the integration process and to develop new policies to complement ongoing efforts, maximizing their benefits. Reducing disparities in provision of social services will increase the chances of workers from the inland parts of the EAC to find jobs, especially as administrative obstacles to labor mobility are being removed under the Common Market Protocol. Implementing and deepening the current program of regional infrastructure improvements will ensure that consumers and producers throughout the region are better connected to each other and to global markets. Integration policies facilitating greater economic activity in the coastal areas will help the EAC take advantage of the global demand for manufactured goods and thus to promote employment. That will also generate substantial demand for services and agricultural goods produced inland, amplifying the benefits of the customs union.
Africa’s Trade in Services and Economic Partnership Agreements

(World Bank, 2010-07-20) World Bank

Trade can play a crucial role in the development of services sectors in Africa. Services offer new dynamic opportunities for exports, especially for land-locked countries, while opening up to imports of services and foreign direct investment is a key mechanism to increase competition and drive greater efficiency in the provision of services in the domestic economy. Lower prices, higher quality and wider access to services raises productivity improves competitiveness and is critical for poverty reduction. But trade opening may need to be coordinated with regulatory reforms, to ensure efficient outcomes, while additional policies may be required to ensure that public policy objectives regarding equity are achieved. This places emphasis on the capacity to define and implement sound regulatory policies for services sectors, capacity that is limited in many African countries. Regulatory and trade reforms in Africa need to be supported with technical and financial assistance. Such assistance should be available to all African countries that wish to reform their services sectors, whether they negotiate and sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) or not. An independently managed fund for services trade reform in Africa, organized around common priority sectors, that would allocate resources to support implementation of reforms and consultants according to expertise, not nationality, will be the most appropriate vehicle for providing technical assistance and building capacity.
Congo, Democratic Republic of - Enhanced Integration Framework Program (EIF) : diagnostic trade integration study

(World Bank, 2010-07-01) World Bank

The goal of the Congo, Democratic Republic of (DRC's) trade policy is to create a regulatory, fiscal and institutional environment in which domestic and foreign trade can develop unhindered, opening up the country's vast territory and integrating it into regional and international trade channels. In this respect, the analyses in this report highlight three priorities: (i) to streamline and reduce port taxation; (ii) to conclude the negotiations on a future Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU); and (iii) to move ahead with regional integration with the DRC's natural partners. The identification of these priorities is based on the diagnosis of the DRC's macroeconomic and trade performance and the implications of its choices in terms of trade policy Although it is sometimes said that natural resources are 'a curse' when referring to the disappointing performance of many commodity-exporting countries, work carried out recently has .shown that an abundance of natural resources is not, in itself, a factor inhibiting growth. What is important for the DRC and for all other commodity-exporting countries is to put in place an environment that is beneficial for all sectors of the economy, in which all people and sectors have access to factors of production in a competitive environment where the rule of law is respected. A stable macroeconomic environment is the essential prerequisite for efficient markets. The Congolese economy, however, has recently been subject to considerable pressures. During the last quarter of 2008, commodity prices temporarily collapsed. In addition, disturbances in the Eastern provinces led the Government to increase spending on national defence, financing this through a loan from the Central Bank. This unrest led to market fears concerning the stability of the Congolese franc, helping to cause its depreciation. The authorities' response in terms of macroeconomic policy has been ambiguous, particularly as regards monetary policy. This report is divided into five chapters: implementation and recommendations; trade performance and the policy in the DRC; trade facilitation; performance of sectors upstream: infrastructure and services; and performance of sectors downstream: mining, agriculture, and forestry.