The Impact of Multilateral Trade Agreements on Intra-Regional Trade: A Case of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

This study examines the impact of multilateral trade agreements on intra-regional trade in the ECOWAS region. Annual data from 2000 to 2018 was utilised in a dynamic panel technique environment. Controlling for data characteristics, two measures of multilateral agreements were used, namely tariff and non-tariff measures. The results of the tariff measures model on multilateral agreements show strong deterministic effects of regional multilateral trade on growth and employment creation. However, in the non-tariff models, only growth is found to benefit from the ECOWAS regional agreement. By implication, improvement in the practise of intra-regional trading arrangements is required to grow the economy and create jobs in the region.