The African Growth and Opportunity Act
The African Growth and Opportunity Act

Author: Howard Sarisohn

Publisher: Nova Science Publishers

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781629482996

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In 2000, Congress passed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a U.S. trade preference program, in order to help spur market-led economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and deepen U.S. trade and investment ties with the region. Since its enactment, Congress has amended AGOA five times, making some technical changes and renewing the trade preferences through September 30, 2015. According to the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, (USTR) for Africa, "AGOA is the cornerstone of America's trade and investment policy with sub-Saharan Africa." Economic conditions in Africa, however, have changed considerably since Congress passed the initial AGOA legislation. Annual real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in SSA was nearly a full percentage point lower than global GDP growth (2.3% vs. 3.2%) in the decade leading up to AGOA's passage (1990-2000). Over the last ten years, however, SSA's growth averaged 5.7%, two points higher than the 3.7% world average. While the region still contains many of the world's poorest countries and faces significant economic challenges, some observers and policymakers argue that changing economic conditions warrant an evolution in U.S. policy toward SSA, focused more strongly on private sector investment and increasing two-way trade. In recent years, SSA's growing economic potential and abundant natural resources have attracted other foreign investors, including state- supported enterprises from countries such as China, which is now the region's largest trading partner. This book seeks to inform the discussion on the potential reauthorization of AGOA through analysis of: (1) the components of the AGOA legislation; (2) U.S. import trends associated with AGOA; (3) the impact of AGOA on African economies and U.S.-Africa trade; and (4) the issues surrounding the reauthorization process.

Africa in the Global Economy
Africa in the Global Economy

Author: Richard Elias Mshomba

Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9781555874438

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Mshomba (economics, La Salle University) analyzes the role of international trade in Africa, focusing on four central issues: the trade policies of the sub-Saharan African countries; the impact of GATT and the WTO; the impact of GATT/WTO agreements; and the viability of regional economic integration as a strategy for trade and development. He combines rigorous theoretical analysis with an empirical approach that gives attention to experiences of individual countries and particular institutional settings. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Doing Business 2020
Doing Business 2020

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2019-11-21

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1464814414

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Seventeen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2020 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity.

Incoherent Empire
Incoherent Empire

Author: Michael Mann

Publisher: Verso Books

Published: 2020-05-05

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 1789603331

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In this book, noted sociologist Michael Mann argues that the "new American imperialism" is actually a new militarism. Dissecting the economic, political, military and ideological resources available to the US, Mann concludes that they are so uneven as to generate only an 'incoherent empire' and increasing world disorder. The US is a military giant, though it is better at devastating than pacifying countries. It is a political schizophrenic, its personality split between multilateralism, unilateralism and an actual inability to rule over foreign lands or to control its own supposed client states. It is only a backseat driver of the global economy. It cannot steer it, but it prods poorer countries toward an unproductive and unpopular neo-liberalism.

Unlocking Africa's Business Potential
Unlocking Africa's Business Potential

Author: Landry Signe

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2020-04-07

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0815737394

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Africa welcomes business investment and offers some of the world's highest returns and impacts Africa has tremendous economic potential and offers rewarding opportunities for global businesses looking for new markets and long-term investments with favorable returns. Africa has been one of the world's fastest-growing regions over the past decade, and by 2030 will be home to nearly 1.7 billion people and an estimated $6.7 trillion worth of consumer and business spending. Increased political stability in recent years and improving regional integration are making market access easier, and business expansion will generate jobs for women and youth, who represent the vast majority of the population. Current economic growth and poverty-alleviation efforts mean that more than 43 percent of the continent's people will reach middle- or upper-class status by 2030. Unlocking Africa's Business Potential examines business opportunities in the eight sectors with the highest potential returns on private investment—the same sectors that will foster economic growth and diversification, job creation, and improved general welfare. These sectors include: consumer markets, agriculture and agriprocessing, information and communication technology, manufacturing, oil and gas, tourism, banking, and infrastructure and construction. The book's analysis of these sectors is based on case studies that identify specific opportunities for investment and growth, along with long-term market projections to inform decision-making. The book identifies potential risks to business and offers mitigation strategies. It also provides policymakers with solutions to attract new business investments, including how to remove barriers to business and accelerate development of the private sector.

Challenges of African Growth
Challenges of African Growth

Author: B. J. Ndulu

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0821368834

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Poverty in Africa is largely the outcome of slow growth. With the region hosting 10 percent of the world's population but a staggering 30 percent of the world's poor, the challenges it faces are enormous but NOT insurmountable. The message of this book is clear - poverty-eradicating development in Africa is possible. In fact, there are indications that Africa is at a turning point, and there is growing momentum among front-runner economies in the region toward higher and sustained growth. This study challenges African countries and their development partners to consolidate and continue this momentum and to exploit the advantages of the continent as a latecomer, particularly in innovation and in drawing lessons from successful export-led growth experiences in Asia and Latin America. "Challenges of African Growth" identifies opportunities, constraints, and strategic choices that African countries face in their quest for achieving the growth necessary for poverty alleviation. More important, the study provides a broad menu of stategic options for ensuring not only that countries embark on a growth path, but also that the growth is shared and sustainable. The critical areas for action rest on four pillars: the investment climate; infrastructure; innovation for increasing productivity and competitiveness; and institutional capacity.

Economic Development in Africa Report 2019
Economic Development in Africa Report 2019

Author: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Publisher:

Published: 1901

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789210039741

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The advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents a historic opportunity for the continent to boost intra-African trade and accelerate structural transformation. However, this relies on a critical policy instrument: the effective implementation of preferential trade liberalization among the AfCFTA members. Whether in practice African firms will utilize tariff preferences under the AfCFTA depends on a critical factor: rules of origin (RoO) and the net benefits of complying with them. The Economic Development in Africa Report 2019 argues for the adoption of flexible RoO and a strengthening of institutional capacities to ensure an impartial, transparent, predictable, consistent and neutral implementation of agreed RoO.