Journal of African Trade

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Volume 8, Issue 1, December 2021, Pages 82 - 95

Regional Developmentalism in West Africa: The Case for Commodity-based Industrialization through Regional Cooperation in the Cocoa–Chocolate Sector

Authors
Jonathan Bashi Rudahindwa1, 2, *, Sophie van Huellen3, 4, *
1Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, London School of Economics, London, UK
2Centre for Comparative Law in Africa (CCLA), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
3Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
4Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, London, UK
Corresponding Authors
Jonathan Bashi Rudahindwa, Sophie van Huellen
Received 16 December 2020, Accepted 20 November 2021, Available Online 9 December 2021.
DOI
10.2991/jat.k.211130.001How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Cocoa; development; developmental state; ECOWAS; industrialization; regional integration; West Africa
Abstract

Regional integration occupies a prominent place in the economic policies of most sub-Saharan African countries. However, despite different waves of initiatives across the African continent, the majority of African regional schemes have not managed to achieve their ambitious goal of promoting sustainable development through trade integration in Africa. In light of this observation and using the West African cocoa–chocolate sector as a case study, we propose the regional developmentalism paradigm as an alternative approach to regionalism in Africa. Regional developmentalism places a particular emphasis on the use of regional and subregional approaches to development. Instead of full-fledged trade liberalization and indiscriminate economic integration, the regional developmentalism paradigm advocates for state-led trade facilitation, regulatory convergence, and capacity-building by adopting policies directed at strategic sectors. We evaluate the potential of the regional developmentalism paradigm to promote economic transformation and commodity-based industrialization against the shortcomings of the current regional integration approach embodied in the institutional framework of the Economic Community of West African States.

Copyright
© 2021 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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<Previous Article In Issue
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Journal
Journal of African Trade
Volume-Issue
8 - 1
Pages
82 - 95
Publication Date
2021/12/09
ISSN (Online)
2214-8523
ISSN (Print)
2214-8515
DOI
10.2991/jat.k.211130.001How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2021 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

risenwbib
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Jonathan Bashi Rudahindwa
AU  - Sophie van Huellen
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/12/09
TI  - Regional Developmentalism in West Africa: The Case for Commodity-based Industrialization through Regional Cooperation in the Cocoa–Chocolate Sector
JO  - Journal of African Trade
SP  - 82
EP  - 95
VL  - 8
IS  - 1
SN  - 2214-8523
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/jat.k.211130.001
DO  - 10.2991/jat.k.211130.001
ID  - Rudahindwa2021
ER  -