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Economic integration in Africa

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  • Adom, Assandé Désiré
  • Sharma, Subhash C.
  • Morshed, A.K.M. Mahbub

Abstract

There is a renewed interest in the debate on integration in Africa since the creation of the African Union in 2002. This study investigates the feasibility of a full-fledged economic union in Africa. Towards this goal, we examine the short- and long-term relationships among key macro-variables in eight largest African economies during the period from 1976 to 2005. We observe the existence of common long-term trends in real output, price level, private consumption, government consumption, investment and trade flows among these eight countries. In addition, we observe that there exists common cycles (short-term relationships) in real output, investment and trade flows for these countries. These two critical findings indicate the presence of macroeconomic interdependence among these countries which is a crucial factor for the success of integration in Africa led by these eight countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Adom, Assandé Désiré & Sharma, Subhash C. & Morshed, A.K.M. Mahbub, 2010. "Economic integration in Africa," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 245-253, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:50:y:2010:i:3:p:245-253
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    4. Jensen, Hans Grinsted & Sandrey, Ron, 2015. "African agricultural trade: Recent and the future," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 10(2), pages 1-12.
    5. Ephrem Habtemichael Redda & Paul-Francois Muzindutsi, 2021. "Monetary Union Feasibility in the East African Community: Evidence from GPPP," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 11(6), pages 9-16.
    6. EPHREM HABTEMICHAEL REDDA & Paul-Francious Muzindusti, 2017. "Does SADC constitute an optimum currency area? Evidence from generalised purchasing power parity," Proceedings of Economics and Finance Conferences 4807771, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    7. Cesar Sobrino & Ellis Heath, 2013. "Currency Area and Non-synchronized Business Cycles between the US and Puerto Rico," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 33(3), pages 1948-1958.
    8. Wang RUI, 2015. "A critical review of regional economic integration in China," Turkish Economic Review, KSP Journals, vol. 2(2), pages 88-103, June.

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