Journal of African Trade

Volume 7, Issue 1-2, December 2020, Pages 37 - 44

Regional Integration and Growth Spillovers: Is Africa an Economic Space?

Authors
Abdoulaye Seck*, ORCID, Founty Alassane Fall, Khadidiatou Aidara
Economics Department, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal
*Corresponding author. Email: abdoulaye.seck@ucad.edu.sn
Corresponding Author
Abdoulaye Seck
Received 6 January 2020, Accepted 15 July 2020, Available Online 29 July 2020.
DOI
10.2991/jat.k.200724.001How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Regional integration; trade; growth spillovers; Africa; spatial dynamic panel
Abstract

Market integration is often associated with economic growth spillovers, to the extent that strengthened trade linkages would make economic growth in one country an opportunity for growth to its partners. This paper uses a spatial dynamic panel data approach to analyze the extent to which Africa and its major regional groupings have been able to generate shared growth. The results indicate that the continent as a whole is indeed a spatially integrated economic zone. Although of a weak proportion compared to advanced economies, the contemporaneous spatial growth effect is associated with strong growth convergence and a large rate of return to physical capital. The results also suggest that space has more to do with bilateral trade than geographical distance, and point to a great deal of heterogeneity: the positive growth spillover effect in regional groupings such as South African Development Authority, Common Market for Eastern and Southern African, and Economic Community of West African States, which happen to register larger intraregional trade shares, contrast with the absence of such an effect in Economic Community of Central African States and Arab Maghreb Union, two blocks which have achieved little in terms of economic integration. These results should be a welcome addition to the debate over the opportunity of the proposed continent-wide free trade area and its ability to foster inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development for African economies.

Copyright
© 2020 African Export-Import Bank. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Journal
Journal of African Trade
Volume-Issue
7 - 1-2
Pages
37 - 44
Publication Date
2020/07/29
ISSN (Online)
2214-8523
ISSN (Print)
2214-8515
DOI
10.2991/jat.k.200724.001How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2020 African Export-Import Bank. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Cite this article

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Abdoulaye Seck
AU  - Founty Alassane Fall
AU  - Khadidiatou Aidara
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/07/29
TI  - Regional Integration and Growth Spillovers: Is Africa an Economic Space?
JO  - Journal of African Trade
SP  - 37
EP  - 44
VL  - 7
IS  - 1-2
SN  - 2214-8523
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/jat.k.200724.001
DO  - 10.2991/jat.k.200724.001
ID  - Seck2020
ER  -