Indicators to Monitor Regional Trade Integration in Africa

More than 350 Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) are currently in force and more than one-half of global trade is carried out under preferential terms. A strong set of results based indicators can help to illuminate the costs and benefits of policy initiatives and, thus, inform the broader public dialogue on complementary reforms. The following discussion takes stock of the monitoring practices in Africa with respect to regional trade initiatives and evaluates the need for further indicator development. The assessment thereby focuses on the downstream outcomes of existing trade commitments and the measurement of how regional trade policies affect ordinary traders, producers, and consumers. This spotlight on impact-monitoring for the general population also helps to establish whether decision makers have the necessary tools at hand to evaluate the linkages between regional trade arrangements and poverty reduction. This paper is divided into following sections: section one gives background and motivation for the analysis; section two briefly discusses integration monitoring systems and related indicators in general; section three presents an overview of regional trade indicators that are currently used by policy-makers in sub-Saharan Africa; section four surveys the respective monitoring practices in other regions of the world; and section five provides suggestions for indicator development in Africa based on the practices and gaps identified in the earlier parts of the report.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Walkenhorst, Peter
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-09
Subjects:	AGGREGATE TRADE, BARRIERS TO TRADE, BENCHMARK, BOND, BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS, BUSINESS CLIMATE, CAPITAL FLOWS, CARRIERS, CHANGES IN TRADE, CIVIL SOCIETY, COMMON MARKET, COMPETITION, COMPETITION AUTHORITY, COMPETITIVENESS, CONSUMER PRICES, CONSUMERS, CONSUMPTION, CREDIT, CROP INSURANCE, CROSS-BORDER TRADE, CURRENCY, CUSTOMS, CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION, CUSTOMS CLEARANCE, CUSTOMS CLEARANCE PROCEDURES, CUSTOMS PROCEDURES, CUSTOMS UNION, DATA AVAILABILITY, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DISPUTE SETTLEMENT, DISTRIBUTION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ENFORCEMENT, EUROPEAN UNION, EXCHANGES, EXPECTATIONS, EXPORT BANS, EXPORT MARKETS, EXPORT PRODUCTS, EXPORT STANDARDS, EXPORTERS, EXPORTS, FOREIGN INVESTMENT, FOREIGN OWNERSHIP, FOREIGN VALUE, FREE TRADE, FREE TRADE AREA, GDP, GLOBAL ECONOMIC PROSPECTS, GLOBAL MARKETS, GLOBAL TRADE, GOODS, GOODS IN TRANSIT, GOVERNANCE, GROSS EXPORTS, HARMONIZATION, IMPORTS, INFLUENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INSTITUTION BUILDING, INTEGRATION PROCESSES, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INTEREST, INTERNAL MARKET, INTERNATIONAL MARKETS, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, INVENTORIES, INVENTORY, INVESTMENT AGREEMENT, ITC, LAGS, MARGINAL COST, MARKET ACCESS, MARKET INTEGRATION, MARKET PRICE, MARKET REGULATION, MARKET REGULATIONS, MEASUREMENT, MULTILATERAL LIBERALIZATION, MUTUAL AGREEMENTS, MUTUAL RECOGNITION, MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENTS, NATIONAL TREATMENT, NON-TARIFF BARRIERS, OUTCOMES, OUTPUT, PAYMENTS, POLICY MAKERS, POLICY PRIORITIES, POLITICAL ECONOMY, PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT, PRICE, PRICE CONTROLS, PRODUCTION, REGIONAL AGREEMENTS, REGIONAL EXCHANGES, REGIONAL INTEGRATION, REGIONAL INTEGRATION AGREEMENTS, REGIONAL LEVEL, REGIONAL TRADE, REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS, REGIONAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS, REGIONAL TRADE INTEGRATION, REGIONALISM, REGULATORS, REGULATORY BARRIERS, REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, RULES OF ORIGIN, SAVINGS, SECURITY, SHARE, SKILLED LABOR, SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS, SUBSIDIES, TARIFF, TARIFF LINES, TARIFF REDUCTION, TARIFF REDUCTIONS, TARIFFS, TAXES, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRACK RECORD, TRADE AREAS, TRADE CLASSIFICATION, TRADE COSTS, TRADE EXPANSION, TRADE FACILITATION, TRADE FINANCE, TRADE FLOWS, TRADE IMPEDIMENTS, TRADE IN SERVICES, TRADE INDICATORS, TRADE INTEGRATION, TRADE INTENSITY, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRADE LOGISTICS, TRADE POLICIES, TRADE POLICY, TRADE POLICY REFORMS, TRADE PRACTICES, TRADE PROTECTION, TRADE REFORMS, TRADE REGULATIONS, TRADE ROUTES, TRADE TRANSACTION, TRADE VOLUME, TRADE VOLUMES, TRANSACTION COSTS, TRANSACTIONS COSTS, TRANSPARENCY, VALUATION, VALUE ADDED, VALUE OF EXPORTS, VARIABLES, WORLD MARKET, WORLD MARKETS, WTO, ZERO TARIFFS,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/09/18327985/indicators-monitor-regional-trade-integration-africa https://hdl.handle.net/10986/16658
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