Policy Implications of Ecowas in Regional Development
Policy Implications of Ecowas in Regional Development

Author: Dr. Joseph K. Manboah-Rockson

Publisher: Partridge Africa

Published: 2019-06-06

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 1482878569

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“Policy Implications of ECOWAS in Regional Development” is an analytical study of the policies and programs impeding the transformation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) into a cohesive entity. What is questionable throughout this book is the specific paradigm of regional integration adopted by West African countries similar to the European Union; but which is not working as envisaged. A linear textbook model demonstrates an integration to do with the preoccupation with tariff liberalization, as not being the most effective means of addressing the challenges of smallness, marginalization and under-development in West Africa. The fundamental issue and underlying problem in West Africa is that of economically, socially and politically weak states. These weak states lack the institutional capacity to make and effectively implement policies and regulations meant to drive the integration process. More to these assertions are that there is much evidence of strong political commitment to regional integration, but very poor performance on the implementation of commitments; that is, there is no political will to commit to regional integration.

Regional Integration in West Africa
Regional Integration in West Africa

Author: Eswar Prasad

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2021-07-13

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 0815738544

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" Assessing the potential benefits and risks of a currency union Leaders of the fifteen-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have set a goal of achieving a monetary and currency union by late 2020. Although some progress has been made toward achieving this ambitious goal, major challenges remain if the region is to realize the necessary macroeconomic convergence and establish the required institutional framework in a relatively short period of time. The proposed union offers many potential benefits, especially for countries with historically high inflation rates and weak central banks. But, as implementation of the euro over the past two decades has shown, folding multiple currencies, representing disparate economies, into a common union comes with significant costs, along with operational challenges and transitional risks. All these potential negatives must be considered carefully by ECOWAS leaders seeking tomeet a self-imposed deadline. This book, by two leading experts on economics and Africa, makes a significant analytical contribution to the debates now under way about how ECOWAS could achieve and manage its currency union, andthe ramifications for the African continent. "

Regional Economic Communities
Regional Economic Communities

Author: Olutayo, Akinpelu O.

Publisher: CODESRIA

Published: 2015-12-01

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 2869786328

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This book examines how the existence of overlapping regional institutions has presented a daunting challenge to the workings of various Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on the African continent. The majority of the African countries are members of overlapping and, sometimes, contradictory RECs. For instance, in East Africa, while Kenya and Uganda are both members of EAC and COMESA, Tanzania, which is also a member of the EAC, left COMESA in 2001 to join SADC. In West Africa, while all former French colonies belong to ECOWAS, they simultaneously keep membership of UEMOA, an organization which is not recognized by the African Union (AU). Such multiple and confusing memberships create unnecessary duplication and dims the light on what ought to be priority. Various chapters in this book have therefore sought to identify and proffer solutions to related challenges confronting the workings of the RECs in different sub-regions of the African continent. The discourses range from security to the stock exchange, identity integration, development framework, labour movement and cross-border relations. The pattern adopted in the book involves devolution of related discussions from the general to the specific; that is, from the continental level to sub-regional case studies.

Regional Economic Integration in West Africa
Regional Economic Integration in West Africa

Author: Diery Seck

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-18

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 3319012827

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​This book presents a number of key studies pertaining to the most pressing challenges of economic regional integration in West Africa. The issues of monetary coordination, foreign exchange volatility, taxation, savings and macroeconomic convergence are investigated from a regional perspective. The characteristics of West Africa’s trade policy are reviewed and assessed in comparison to that of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The extent to which regional integration can tackle the challenge of unemployment is the focus of studies on labour markets. Development of the private sector and coordination of regional cross-border transportation are examined through the lens of economic collaboration between Arab and African countries. The book provides fresh new answers to persistent development questions and sheds new light on long-held views that are either incomplete or no longer true. It also opens new perspectives on the search for sustainable avenues for Africa’s development. In this regard, it may contribute to the emergence of a new paradigm on Africa’s development process and its science-based, policy-oriented implementation.

The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa
The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa

Author: Alexandre Marc

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2015-06-19

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 1464804656

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Since independence, the West African sub-region has been an arena for a number of large-scale conflicts and civil wars, as well as simmering and low-intensity uprisings. Contrary to perceptions, West Africa in its post-independence history has experienced fewer conflict events and fatalities from conflict than the other sub-regions on the continent. The turn of the millennium has witnessed the recession of large-scale and conventional conflict, and it has ushered in new and emerging threats. The specters of religious extremism, maritime piracy, and narcotics trafficking threaten to undermine some of the progress achieved in recent years. The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa critically examines the key drivers of conflict and violence, and the way in which they impact the countries of the sub-region. In addition to emerging threats, these drivers include the challenges of youth inclusion, migration, sub-regional imbalances, and extractives, as well as challenges related to the fragility of political institutions and managing the competition for power, reform of the security sector, and weakness of institutions related to land management. The book explores how the sub-region, under the auspices of the regional organization ECOWAS, has become a pioneer on the continent in terms of addressing regional challenges. The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa also identifies key lessons in the dynamics of resilience in the face of political violence and civil war drawn from CÃ ́te d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, that can be useful for countries around the world in similar situations. It incorporates knowledge and findings from leading experts and provides insights from academics and development practitioners. Finally, the book identifies possible policy and programmatic responses and directions for policy dialogue at the national and international levels.

Regional Integration and Cooperation in West Africa
Regional Integration and Cooperation in West Africa

Author: Réal P. Lavergne

Publisher: IDRC (International Development Research Centre)

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9780865435674

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This volume examines the failure of regional integration and cooperation to date in West Africa and explores some of the more holistic and economically liberal options for revitalization. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Cross-border Co-operation and Policy Networks in West Africa
Cross-border Co-operation and Policy Networks in West Africa

Author: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Publisher: Organization for Economic Co-Operation & Development

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789264265769

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This publication examines how policy actors involved in cross-border co-operation contribute to the regional integration process in West Africa. It uses a pioneering methodology, known as social network analysis, to visualise the formal and informal relationships between actors involved in cross-border policy networks, showing that borders have notable and diverse impacts on exchanges of information and the relative power of networks. The report then analyses a range of regional indicators of co-operation potential, visually demonstrating that borders can also affect the ability of sub-regions within West Africa to develop cross-border initiatives in a number of ways. Combining these two analyses with the perceptions of regional policy makers as to which border areas they consider as priorities for regional integration, the publication concludes with the analytical foundations for more effective place-based policies that can enhance cross-border co-operation in West Africa.

Assessing Regional Integration in Africa V
Assessing Regional Integration in Africa V

Author:

Publisher: UN

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13:

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The fifth of the series (ARIA/V) has come at a time of renewed enthusiasm for shortening the period of the vision of the Abuja Treaty. Its overall objective is to provide an analytical research publication that defines frameworks for African Governments, the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities, towards accelerating the establishment of the African Common Market through: the speedy removal of all tariff and non-tariff barriers, obstacles to free movement of people, investments and factors of production in general across Africa, and through fast-tracking the creation of an African continental Free Trade Area

Africa's Lions
Africa's Lions

Author: Haroon Bhorat

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2016-11-08

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 0815729502

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Examining the economic forces that will shape Africa's future. Africa’s Lions examines the economic growth experiences of six fast growing and/or economically dominant African countries. Expert African researchers offer unique perspectives into the challenges and issues in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and South Africa. Despite a growing body of research on African economies, very little has focused on the relationship between economic growth and employment outcomes at the detailed country level. A lack of empirical data has deprived policymakers of a robust evidence base on which to make informed decisions. By harnessing country-level household, firm, and national accounts data together with existing analytical country research—the authors have attempted to bridge this gap. The growth of the global working-age population to 2030 will be driven primarily by Africa, which means that the relationship between growth and employment should be understood within the context of each country’s projected demographic challenge and the associated implications for employment growth. A better understanding of the structure of each country’s workforce and the resulting implications for human capital development, the vulnerably employed, and the working poor, will be critical to informing the development policy agenda. As a group, the six countries profiled in Africa’s Lions will largely shape the continent's future. Each country chapter focuses on the complex interactions between economic growth and employment outcomes, within the individual Africa’s Lions context.

Regional Integration and Migration in Africa
Regional Integration and Migration in Africa

Author: Vusi Gumede

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2020-06-02

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 9004411224

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This comparative book debates migration and regional integration in the two regional economic blocs, namely the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The book takes a historical and nuanced citizenship approach to integration by analysing regional integration from the perspective of non-state actors and how they negotiate various structures and institutions in their pursuit for life and livelihood in a contemporary context marked by mobility and economic fragmentation.