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Regional Integration: Do Intra-African Trade and Migration Improve Income in Africa?

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  • Blaise Gnimassoun

    (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

Regional integration in Africa is a subject of great interest, but its impact on income has not been studied sufficiently. Using cross-sectional and panel estimations, this article examines the impact of African integration on real per capita income in Africa. Accordingly, we consider intra-African trade and migration flows as quantitative measures reflecting the intensity of regional integration. To address the endogeneity concerns, we use a gravity-based, two-stage least-squares strategy. Our results show that, from a long-term perspective, African integration has not been strong enough to generate a positive, significant, and robust impact on real per capita income in Africa. However, it does appear to be significantly income-enhancing in the short and medium terms but only through intercountry migration. These results are robust to a wide range of specifications.

Suggested Citation

  • Blaise Gnimassoun, 2020. "Regional Integration: Do Intra-African Trade and Migration Improve Income in Africa?," Post-Print hal-02285735, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02285735
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    Cited by:

    1. Coulibaly, Dramane & Gnimassoun, Blaise & Mignon, Valérie, 2020. "The tale of two international phenomena: Migration and global imbalances," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Blaise Gnimassoun, 2019. "How to Boost the Impact of Intra-African Trade on Income in Africa?," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 541-557, July.
    3. Aliyu, Shehu Usman Rano & Salissu, Afees & Kale, Oyeyemi, 2024. "Migration and Youth Unemployment in Africa: Implications for the African Continental Free Trade Area," MPRA Paper 121437, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 22 Jun 2024.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E64 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Incomes Policy; Price Policy
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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