Publication: Administrative Barriers to Foreign Investment : Reducing Red Tape in Africa
Loading...
Published
2000
ISSN
Date
2013-08-19
Editor(s)
Abstract
The book consists of two papers which provide an overview of administrative barriers in Africa, and a very in-depth look at how one country, Mozambique, used a very large foreign investment as a mechanism to begin to tear them down. The first paper is based on a series of country-specific studies on administrative barriers done by Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS) and the United States Agency for International Development. These studies covered Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Each country study relied on review of primary materials, laws, and regulations. The second paper is a detailed look at how the administrative barriers that existed in Mozambique threatened to derail the huge Mozal aluminum smelter that was proposed by South African investors. Not only were the barriers overcome for this special project but also the Government used the knowledge gained in the process to reduce barriers for all investors and establish institutions that could facilitate other investments. The message in both papers is that administrative barriers constitute a significant impediment to foreign direct investment in Africa. Many of the administrative procedures required of investors have no real justification. Removal of unnecessary barriers and streamlining other administrative procedures require detailed efforts by governments involving the exercise of significant political leadership.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Emery, James J.; Spence, Melvin T., Jr.; Wells, Louis T., Jr.; Buehrer, Timothy S.. 2000. Administrative Barriers to Foreign Investment : Reducing Red Tape in Africa. FIAS Occasional Paper;No. 14. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15192 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Trade and Regional Cooperation between Afghanistan and its Neighbors(Washington, DC, 2004-02-18)The report envisages significant, medium-term benefits for Afghanistan and its neighbors from trade policy liberalization, from country-by-country reforms in trade logistics, and, especially within Afghanistan, from road rehabilitation and building a commercially-oriented enabling environment for trade, private investment and entrepreneurial development. The growth of regional and transit trade will boost private investment and growth in the short-to-medium term and help to realize the long-term vision for Afghanistan as a country moving toward middle-income status, based on sustainable development of its resources. Recommendations focused on Afghanistan include calls for priority action, with broad support from the international community, aimed at: improving security throughout the country both for persons and property; completing the main road rehabilitation, extending telephone and other telecommunication systems and ensuring that after reconstruction maintenance is undertaken to sustain roads in good condition; streamlining of border crossing procedures; reestablishing formal financial and insurance systems including development of a effective clearance and settlement system; implementing a national customs and transit system; eliminating restrictions on direct transit; removing internal checking-posts and en-route inspections; and increasing domestic trucking competition. To foster a strong, enabling environment for domestic and foreign trade, the study also advocates a set of immediate and short-term measures, including implementing a functioning payments system for international and domestic transfers though the formal banking system; making transit bonds and transport insurance available to shippers; redefining the role of the Afghan Ministry of Commerce to emphasize its mandate in trade and investment promotion relative to it role in trade regulation; supporting a larger role, distinct from that of government, for a private chamber of commerce to assist in export promotion; designing and implementing major capacity-building programs to develop skills and professionalism in banking, insurance and customs; and encouraging truckers and freight forwarders to establish national private industry organizations and to affiliate with international organizations.Publication Clothing and Export Diversification : Still a Route to Growth for Low-Income Countries?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-09)Can the clothing sector be a driver of export diversification and growth for today's low-income countries as it was in the past for countries that have graduated into middle income? This paper assesses this issue taking into account key changes to the market for clothing: the emergence of India and especially China as exporting countries; the rise of global production chains; the removal of quotas from the global trading regime but the continued presence of high tariffs and substantial trade preferences; the increasing importance of large buyers in developed countries and their concerns regarding risk and reputation; and the increasing importance of time in defining sourcing decisions. To assess the importance of the factors shaping the global clothing market, the authors estimate a gravity model to explain jointly the propensity to export clothing and the magnitude of exports from developing countries to the E U and US markets. This analysis identifies the quality of governance as an important determinant of sourcing decisions and that there appears to be a general bias against sourcing apparel from African countries, which is only partially overcome by trade preferences.Publication Tunisia's Global Integration : Second Generation of Reforms to Boost Growth and Employment(Washington, DC, 2008-05)This report addresses the following issues: Chapter one takes stock of the integration policies implemented since the early 1970s and assessed their impact on foreign direct investments (FDI), exports and employment. Chapter two looks at today's major challenges in the manufacturing sector and the specific policies needed to address them. Chapter three assesses the entry, business, and trade restrictions in Tunisia's key backbone services sectors (telecommunication, banking, air transport, accounting, auditing, and legal services) using a well-focused regulatory questionnaire. The restrictiveness indices calculated from the regulatory questionnaire are then used to benchmark Tunisia against Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and some emerging economies and to simulate the impact of various liberalization options on the price of services and the economy via a multi-region general equilibrium model. Finally, chapter four examines the prospect for increasing exports and off shoring of a large number of services for which Tunisia has demonstrated a strong capacity for export in recent years. The significant increase in real incomes in Tunisia is the result of solid gross domestic product (GDP) growth since the mid-1960s (5 percent a year), low inflation and the demographic transition, faster than in neighboring countries. In 1996-2007, economic growth has exhibited greater resilience to moderate exogenous shocks, thanks to prudent macroeconomic management public debt declined from 62.4 percent in 2001 to 50.9 percent of GDP in 2007 thanks to pro-active debt management. The resulting decline in the debt service since 2005 combined with steady GDP growth allowed the government to 'protect' capital expenditures and key social spending within the context of low but structural fiscal deficit. While the current account remained in deficit over the last 10 years, foreign exchange reserves increased steadily thanks to increasing FDI inflows. In 2007, international reserves increased by US$ 1 billion to US$ 7.8 billion, representing 4.6 months of imports of goods and services.Publication Tunisia's Global Integration : A Second Generation of Reforms to Boost Growth and Employment(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2009)This study on a world integration for Tunisia attempts to contribute to the achievement of the growth of the 11th development plan. It first takes stock of past integration policies, outlining policies implemented and assessing their impact on foreign direct investments (FDI), exports and employment. Then, it examines the current challenges of integration of Tunisia, which is both global and multisectoral pursuant to the actual creation of a free trade area with Europe for industrial products in January 2008. In the light of challenges expected, another generation of integration reform is identified to further improve the positioning of a competitive Tunisia and realize the potential growth in services. The report contains four chapters. Chapter one analyzes integration policies implemented since the early 70s and evaluates the impact thereof on the FDI, exports and employment. Chapter two examines the current challenges and major reforms necessary to correct the side-effects of past integration policies. Chapter three attempts to identify the reforms necessary to improve quality and lower prices of services. Finally, chapter four examines the prospects for export of professional services (accounting, auditing, legal services) and health by Tunisia, which showed a real capacity to compete in these areas in recent years.Publication Challenges of CAFTA : Maximizing the Benefits for Central America(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2006)The report provides a preliminary assessment of DR-CAFTA (the Dominican Republic and Central American Free trade Agreement), with particular attention to three key themes: (1) expected trade and non-trade benefits, (2) actions that Central American countries need to pursue to capitalize optimally on the new opportunities, and (3) identification of the population groups that may require assistance to adapt to a more competitive environment. The Introductory Chapter reviews the main findings of the report. Chapter 2 places DR-CAFTA in the historical context of the economic reforms that Central America has been undertaking since the late 1980s. Chapter 3 provides a summary overview of the recently negotiated DR-CAFTA. Chapter 4 reviews various analyses that assess the potential impacts of DR-CAFTA in Central American countries. Chapter 5 focuses on the identification of potentially affected populations from the easing of trade restrictions in sensitive agricultural products and analyzes policy options to assist vulnerable groups. Chapter 6 reviews evidence related to key macroeconomic implications of DR-CAFTA, namely the potential revenue losses and effect on the patterns of business-cycle synchronization. Chapter 7 reviews evidence from each Central American country in the areas of trade facilitation, institutional and regulatory reforms, and innovation and education, in order to identify key priorities for the complementary agenda for DR-CAFTA.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Corruption as a Push and Pull Factor of Migration Flows(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-09-14)Conclusive evidence on the relationship between corruption and migration has remained scant in the literature to date. Using data from 2008 to 2018 on bilateral migration flows across European Union and European Free Trade Association countries and four measures of corruption, this paper shows that corruption acts as both a push factor and a pull factor for migration patterns. Based on a gravity model, a one-unit increase in the corruption level in the origin country is associated with a 11 percent increase in out-migration. The same one-unit increase in the destination country is associated with a 10 percent decline in in-migration.Publication From Concept to Action(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-06-30)This Lessons Note analyzes project reports and outputs to identify the value addition of resilience efforts, with a special focus on the Resilience Booster Tool. The AFRI-RES grantee projects covered 20 projects spanning 21 countries in Africa3 and eight Global Practices (GPs), benefitting a wide cross-section of stakeholders. A streamlined set of recommendations provide lessons learned from the Resilience Booster’s application to Round II AFRI-RES grantee projects and suggest approaches for improving its application going forward.Publication Making the Most of Ports in West Africa(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-04-06)Ports have always played an essential role in this highly trade-dependent region. While there are still wide disparities in terms of throughput volumes and capacity, traffic has been growing rapidly in most countries over the last decade. Overall, total throughput in West Africa grew from around 105 million tons in 2006 to 165 million tons in 2012. Likewise, containerized traffic remains limited in West Africa compared to other regions but has grown faster than in any other region in the world over the last five years. The combined throughput of container terminals in the region reached almost 5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2013, twice as much as a decade ago, and is expected to keep growing fast. The future throughput of West African ports comprises the demand for containerized trade generated by coastal and landlocked countries, and additional port movements generated by transshipment in regional hub(s). Given the regional dynamics of ports in West Africa, there is also a good case for more cooperation between West African countries on port reform, competition and regulation. Strengthening the capacity and mandate of regional institutions such as the ECOWAS Commission on these issues would complement regulatory efforts at the country level and provide a forum to analyze regional issues related to inter-port competition and private sector participation in port management.Publication How to Engage with the Private Sector in Public-Private Partnerships in Emerging Markets(World Bank, 2011-06-14)What transforms a desirable project on a government wish list to an attractive investment opportunity in the eyes of a potential private sector partner? This guide seeks to enhance the chances of developing effective partnerships between the public and the private sectors by addressing one of the main obstacles to the effective delivery of public-private partnership (PPP) projects: having the right information on the right project for the right partners at the right time. Data from the World Bank and the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) private participation in infrastructure (PPI) project database indicate that private sector investment in infrastructure in developing economies grew steadily over the past decade. By 2007 the levels had finally surpassed the peak levels seen in 1997, the end of the previous growth spurt. This guide focuses specifically on what should be done, and when, in order to prepare projects to attract the right long-term private partners, procure their involvement, and manage the partnership. This guide is not a detailed project preparation manual; rather, it seeks to provide an overview of the process and what is involved so that greater realism can be applied to this challenging task and adequate resource plans can be developed.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.