Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/211278 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2019/48
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Regional integration is making steady progress in Africa and a key objective is to improve the prospects for industrialization by expanding the regional market. This paper draws on a combination of trade data analysis and industry case studies to better understand the links and synergies between regional value chains and regional integration. The trade data and case studies of three diverse sectors (apparel, food retailing, and automotive) demonstrate the expansion and diversity of regional trade and regional value chains in Southern Africa. This diverse composition of regional exports is suggestive of an opportunity to further enhance industrial development through intra-regional trade. The long-term sustainability of Southern African regionalism depends on the recognition of the importance of regional industrial policy that takes account of the dynamics driving global and regional value chains and facilitates regional linkages across all these sectors.
Subjects: 
apparel industry
automotive industry
food retailing
regional integration
Southern African Development Community
value chains
JEL: 
F15
L62
L66
L67
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-682-1
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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