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An evaluation of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade arrangement with Sub-Saharan African countries

Author

Listed:
  • Busani Moyo

    (University of South Africa)

  • Mamello Nchake

    (National University of Lesotho)

  • Blessing Chiripanhura

    (Office for National Statistics)

Abstract

This paper evaluates the impact of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade arrangement on the growth of exports from Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Using several variants of propensity score matching techniques, results show that the impact of AGOA on SSA exports is generally negative and statistically significant. The same conclusion is reached using the difference in differences (DID) method. Further, descriptive statistics show that the proportions of Africa?s exports going to the EU and the US since 2011 have been declining and the export shares of the three largest exporters to the US, namely, South Africa, Nigeria and Angola, are falling.

Suggested Citation

  • Busani Moyo & Mamello Nchake & Blessing Chiripanhura, 2018. "An evaluation of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade arrangement with Sub-Saharan African countries," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 71(287), pages 389-418.
    • Handle: RePEc:psl:pslqrr:2018:42
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    File URL: https://ojs.uniroma1.it/index.php/PSLQuarterlyReview/article/view/14251/pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Garth Frazer & Johannes Van Biesebroeck, 2010. "Trade Growth under the African Growth and Opportunity Act," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(1), pages 128-144, February.
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    4. Jaime DE MELO & Alberto PORTUGAL-PEREZ, 2012. "Preferential Market Access Design: Evidence and Lessons from African Apparel Exports to the US and to the EU," Working Papers P47, FERDI.
    5. Bedassa Tadesse & Bichaka Fayissa, 2008. "The impact of African growth and opportunity act (Agoa) on U.S. imports from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(7), pages 920-941.
    6. Paul Collier & Jan Willem Gunning, 1999. "Why Has Africa Grown Slowly?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 3-22, Summer.
    7. Elhanan Helpman & Marc Melitz & Yona Rubinstein, 2008. "Estimating Trade Flows: Trading Partners and Trading Volumes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(2), pages 441-487.
    8. Pierluigi Montalbano & Silvia Nenci, 2014. "The Trade Competitiveness of Southern Emerging Economies: A Multidimensional Approach Through Cluster Analysis," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(6), pages 783-810, June.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Aschale Tesfahun Kebede & Betselot Adisu Ayal & Yeshambel Tadele Alem, 2026. "US Sanctions on AGOA: A Political Economy Analysis of Ethiopian Trade Development Challenges and Prospects," Insight on Africa, , vol. 18(1), pages 26-48, January.
    2. Oro Oro Ufuo & Paul Alagidede, "undated". "The impact of AGOA on Export Flows from sub-Saharan Africa: A dynamic system GMM analysis," ERSA Working Paper Series v::y:2020:i::id:90, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    3. Rorisang Lesaoana & Leseko Makhetha, 2024. "Gender-Trade Issues: The Effect of AGOA on Female Participation in African Labour Markets," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 155-175.
    4. Adu, Derick T. & Li, Wenying & Sawadgo, Wendiam, 2022. "Trade Growth Under the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act: A Synthetic Control Method with Multiple Treated Units," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322287, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Arsalan Ahmed & Qi Jian Hong & Hassan Tahir, 2021. "Analysis of Pakistan–China FTA by propensity score matching with difference in differences," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(7), pages 1-29, July.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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