Trade and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
This book presents the results of a research project organized by CEPR, with the Rockefeller Foundation and the Commonwealth Secretariat, which examined the role of international trade in the economies of sub-Saharan Africa. The book includes an anlysis of the effects of the terms-of-trade and the volume and composition of exports on overall African trade patterns with two chapters on the political issues of the legacy of colonial underdevelopment and the distribution of winners and losers from trade liberalization. Other 'cross-country' chapters address the effects of OECD trade policies on the growth of African exports and present theoretical studies of the trade components of structural adjustment packages and optimal policies to compress imports. The volume also studies six sub-Saharan countries, chosen for the diversity of their economic structures and with a view to geographical balance. These analyse the contributions of government policy and external factors to export performance, import compression, import demand and non-traditional exports. The book is essential reading for anyone working in economic policy research, especially those whose work relates to the African continent and the consequences for the world economy of the changes taking place there.