IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ajecsc/v79y2020i1p167-197.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The African Continental Free Trade Area

Author

Listed:
  • Franklin Obeng‐Odoom

Abstract

Monopolies continue to dominate world trade by controlling global production and distribution chains. Neither free trade nor fair trade has transformed this system; the recent rise in nativism and pseudo‐protectionism has not, and cannot, address these problems either. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the largest free trade area in the world, promises to be different. AfCFTA rejects classical, neoclassical, and Marxist theories of trade, appealing, instead, to non‐aligned pan‐Africanism. It advocates continental free trade as a way to overcome the lingering effects of slavery, colonialism, and neocolonialism. However, its exclusive focus on continental Africa, its disinterest in systemic redistribution, and encouragement of the private appropriation of socially created land rents prevents AfCFTA from achieving its goals. In fact, AfCFTA might actually foster inequality—progress alongside of poverty—and in so doing, undermine the very essence of this trade regime. What Henry George (1886) called “true free trade,” a theory based on making land common by socializing land rent, offers a more promising and powerful model through which to achieve the pan‐African agenda. Indeed, only true free trade can definitively decolonize global trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Franklin Obeng‐Odoom, 2020. "The African Continental Free Trade Area," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 79(1), pages 167-197, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:79:y:2020:i:1:p:167-197
    DOI: 10.1111/ajes.12317
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12317
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ajes.12317?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John H. Beck, 2012. "Henry George and Immigration," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(4), pages 966-987, October.
    2. repec:eme:rpec11:s0161-7230(04)22002-8 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Franklin Obeng†Odoom, 2018. "Transnational Corporations and Urban Development," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(2), pages 447-510, March.
    4. Mathew Forstater, 2005. "Taxation And Primitive Accumulation: The Case Of Colonial Africa," Research in Political Economy, in: The Capitalist State and Its Economy: Democracy in Socialism, pages 51-64, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. Robinson,Joan, 1979. "Aspects of Development and Underdevelopment," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521295895, October.
    6. Michael Hudson, 2008. "Henry George's Political Critics," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 1-45, January.
    7. Emmanuel Akyeampong, 2018. "African socialism; or, the search for an indigenous model of economic development?," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 69-87, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tyler Shipley, 2016. "Enclosing the Commons in Honduras," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 456-487, March.
    2. Albert Minguet., 1980. "Ii. Recent Books - Livres Récents - Neuerscheinungen: Public Economics Théorie De L'Économie Publique Öffentliche Wirtschaft," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1-2), pages 191-220, 01-06.
    3. Thomas A. Garrett & Andrew F. Kozak & Russell M. Rhine, 2010. "Institutions and government growth: a comparison of the 1890s and the 1930s," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 92(Mar), pages 109-120.
    4. Juan Carlos Moreno Brid & Esteban Pérez Caldentey, 2010. "Trade and Economic Growth: A Latin American Perspective on Rhetoric and Reality," Chapters, in: Mark Setterfield (ed.), Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Growth, chapter 20, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Vitor E. Schincariol, 2021. "Joan Robinson on Environment and Ecology," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 10(3), pages 440-462, December.
    6. Adam Aboobaker, 2024. "Hierarchical consumption preferences, redistribution, and structural transformation," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 33(2), pages 490-506.
    7. Alexander Cotte Poveda, 2013. "The relationship between development, investments, insecurity and social conditions in Colombia: a dynamic approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 47(5), pages 2769-2783, August.
    8. Franklin Obeng‐Odoom, 2021. "Oil Cities in Africa: Beyond Just Transition," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(2), pages 777-821, March.
    9. Vitor Eduardo Schincariol & Muryatan S. Barbosa & Paris Yeros, 2017. "Labour Trends in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Current Crisis (2008–2016)," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 6(1), pages 113-141, April.
    10. Metehan COMERT, 2023. "Changing the Course of Tax Narrative: Relationality Sociality and Postcapitalist Possibilities," Istanbul Journal of Economics-Istanbul Iktisat Dergisi, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 73(73-2), pages 645-674, December.
    11. Richard Giles, 2009. "Henry George Under the Microscope: Comments on “Henry George's Political Critics”," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(5), pages 1153-1167, November.
    12. Kohnert, Dirk, 2022. "French domination of markets in Francophone Africa: Post-colonialism at its finest?," MPRA Paper 112024, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Nechifor, Victor & Boysen, Ole & Ferrari, Emanuele & Simola, Antti & Wafula, Martin & Laichena, Joshua & Malot, Kenneth, 2021. "The AfCFTA at a country level: trade liberalization in Kenya," Conference papers 333308, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    14. Dimand, Robert W. & Saffu, Kojo, 2021. "Polly Hill: Crossing And Contesting The Boundaries Of Anthropology, Economics, African Studies, And Entrepreneurship Studies," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(2), pages 279-296, June.
    15. Anamitra Roychowdhury, 2018. "Do Labour Laws and Rising Real Wages Explain Employment Stagnation in the Organized Manufacturing Sector of India? An Empirical Investigation," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 7(1), pages 51-77, April.
    16. Stephen Fox, 2019. "Moveable Production Systems for Sustainable Development and Trade: Limitations, Opportunities and Barriers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, September.
    17. Bibi, Samuele, 2024. "Prebisch and the terms of trade," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    18. Dimitri Uzunidis & Blandine Laperche, 2011. "The New Mercantilism and the Crisis of the Global Knowledge Economy," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 2(3), pages 373-392, September.
    19. Kohnert, Dirk, 2022. "Domination française des marchés en Afrique francophone : Le post-colonialisme à son meilleur ? [French domination of Francophone African markets: Post-colonialism at its finest?]," MPRA Paper 112051, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Gérard Grellet, 1992. "Pourquoi les pays en voie de développement ont-ils des rythmes de croissance aussi différents ? Un survol critique de quelques orthodoxies contemporaines," Revue Tiers Monde, Programme National Persée, vol. 33(129), pages 31-66.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:79:y:2020:i:1:p:167-197. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0002-9246 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.