Assessing Regional Integration in Africa

Africa is a continent of mostly small economies. Stronger regional integration should make it possible to exploit the continent's huge resource endowments and human capacities and its enormous potential for economies of scale and for becoming globally competitive. And developing the continent through integration could have payoffs in transforming Africa into a collective force in the global economic mainstream. The attention of African countries has turned again to regional integration, evident in recent efforts towards establishing an Africa Union. Progress can be accelerated with renewed commitment and revitalized interventions. The African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development provide Africa with good opportunities to prepare the continent for the challenges of globalization and for responding to the aspiration of its people. This report on assessing regional integration in Africa reflects on the integration agenda, revisits some of its payoffs for Africa, and considers the best experiences, the pitfalls, and the challenges in moving forward to establish the African Union. The report is the first of a series of ECA policy research reports, under the aegis of the Trade and Regional Integration Division, analyzing big issues in integration and making recommendations on ways to accelerate progress.