Development and building trade capacity

The reorganization of supply chains using advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) big data analytics and autonomous robotics is transforming the model of supply chain management from a linear one in which instructions flow from supplier to producer to distributor to consumer and back to a more integrated model in which information flows in an omnidirectional manner to the supply chain. While e-commerce is uniquely suited to many of these techniques they also hold the promise of improving efficiency in brick-and-mortar stores. These technologies are generating enormous benefits through reducing costs making production more responsive to consumer demand boosting employment (employment in supply chain sectors where such technologies are most likely to be applied has grown much more rapidly than in other supply chain sectors and in the economy as a whole) and saving consumers’ time. The impact of these technologies on the length of supply chains is uncertain: they may reduce the length of supply chains by encouraging the reshoring of manufacturing production to high-income economies thus reducing opportunities for developing countries to participate in GVCs or they may strengthen GVCs by reducing coordination and matching costs.

The aim of this chapter is to examine the broad framework which has been evolved for the reception of Aid for Trade (AFT) in Namibia. The economic situation before this period included the prevalence of poverty the HIV/AIDS pandemic low educational opportunities and a very highly skewed or unequal distribution of the wealth of the country which has increased income inequalities and unsustainable economic growth as outlined in Namibia Vision 2030 (Namibia Office of the President 2004). In this regard Namibia shares this economic dependency at the regional level and most trade and economic relationships are mainly with Botswana Lesotho Swaziland and South Africa all of which are members of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). The objective is to create a free trade area in the Southern Africa region.

Geography is unkind. This could be a result of historical accident wars or colonial boundaries but the results are the same. The classical definition of the factors of production is land labour and capital. It is a fact of life that some countries have a limited supply of all three.

This chapter evaluates the impact on competitiveness of reforms undertaken by recently acceded countries and draws lessons for African countries pursuing the goal of becoming emerging economies. By comparing reform outcomes before and after accessions relative to control groups using the difference-in-difference evaluation method the chapter concludes that the recently acceded members improved their international competitiveness although the overall impact was relatively small and differed substantially across economies economic sectors and time. African economies aspiring to become emerging economies could build on the experience of recently acceded countries by designing long-term reform agendas similar to the accession reform packages locking them into a credible policy framework through a series of domestic and international agreements frontloading reforms to gain credibility and persisting in their implementation balancing short-term costs with long-term benefits and learning from Article XII peers who have gained substantial experience in managing complex reforms.

Informality is associated with increased vulnerability of countries to economic shocks. At the same time informality raises the likelihood of being affected by (external) shocks. The combination of these two tendencies can create a vicious circle weakening the long-term performance of a country lowering the potential benefi ts it can derive from trade and reducing economic well-being. This chapter discusses how informal employment evolves over the cycle – differentiating among different segments of informal labour markets – and the consequences for economic resilience to shocks. It presents evidence of the extent to which informal economies increase volatility in growth performance and the frequency of extreme economic events. Moreover the chapter discusses the particular interaction between international capital fl ows and labour market informality in worsening a country’s vulnerability to shocks. It emphasizes the potentially adverse effects of offi cial development aid and international investment by multinationals within global production networks.

Twenty-first century Africa is in a process of economic transformation but challenges remain in areas such as structural reform governance commodity pricing and geopolitics. This book looks into key questions facing the continent such as how Africa can achieve deeper integration into the rules-based multilateral trading system and the global economy. It provides a range of perspectives on the future of the multilateral trading system and Africa’s participation in global trade. It also underlines the supportive roles that can be played by multilateral and regional institutions during such a rapid and uncertain transition.

On 14 February 2020 Africa confirmed its first COVID-19 case in Egypt. To date over 1 million cases have been reported and there have been cases in every country on the continent. A study in May 2020 from the WHO Africa Regional Office posited that within the first year of the pandemic between 83000 and 190000 deaths and 5 million related hospitalizations could occur and a further 29 to 44 million people could be infected if containment measures failed (WHO Africa 2020). As of 1 December 2020 a total of 2179843 COVID-19 cases and 51915 deaths had been reported in 55 African countries. This makes up 3.5 per cent of all cases reported globally (Africa CDC 2020).

En 2013 el comercio mundial de mercancías siguió creciendo a un ritmo moderado del 22% casi idéntico al incremento en el 23% del año anterior. Tanto en 2012 como en 2013 el crecimiento fue inferior al promedio del 53% de los 20 últimos años y también considerablemente inferior al promedio del 6% de los 20 años inmediatamente anteriores a la crisis de 2008-2009. El volumen del comercio mundial de mercancías siguió aumentando lentamente durante los primeros meses de 2014 a un ritmo del 21% en el primer trimestre en comparación con el mismo período de 2013. El incremento anual previsto irá en aumento a medida que la economía mundial cobra impulso a lo largo del año.