IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/devpol/v39y2021i3p493-507.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Enhancing export competitiveness by deeper integration: The case of the East African Community

Author

Listed:
  • Wai Kit Si Tou

Abstract

Motivation Many African countries experience persistent trade deficits and are in need of better export strategy. While the East African Community (EAC) performs best in regional integration among the Regional Economic Communities of Africa, it is important to formulate a comprehensive export strategy that harnesses the benefits of deeper regional integration. Purpose This article analyses the productive capabilities of the five Partner States of the EAC to investigate the potential benefits of greater economic integration. It identifies products that have potential to boost economic development and suggests a regional export strategy. Approach and Methods The product space framework is used to analyse national productive capabilities. In particular, the trade‐off between the potential benefit of developing a complex product and the difficulty to do so is considered. Findings Deeper regional integration in the EAC would create opportunities to develop new products and to enhance the competitiveness of existing industries. The bloc could produce more diverse and more sophisticated products. Specifically, the analysis highlights the potential of agro‐processing and chemicals, which is generally in line with the strategic regional industries stated in the EAC Industrialisation Strategy 2012–2032. Policy Implications Deeper regional integration can help develop products. EAC countries should strengthen co‐operation and leverage their expertise to develop products in clusters of related goods, rather than adopting a scattershot approach, thereby reaping economies of scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Wai Kit Si Tou, 2021. "Enhancing export competitiveness by deeper integration: The case of the East African Community," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(3), pages 493-507, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devpol:v:39:y:2021:i:3:p:493-507
    DOI: 10.1111/dpr.12501
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12501
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/dpr.12501?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. Ricardo Hausmann & Jasmina Chauvin, 2015. "Moving to the Adjacent Possible: Discovering Paths for Export Diversification in Rwanda," CID Working Papers 294, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    2. Cesar A. Hidalgo & Ricardo Hausmann, 2009. "The Building Blocks of Economic Complexity," Papers 0909.3890, arXiv.org.
    3. Jean Imbs & Romain Wacziarg, 2003. "Stages of Diversification," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 63-86, March.
    4. Ricardo Hausmann & Bailey Klinger, 2007. "The Structure of the Product Space and the Evolution of Comparative Advantage," Growth Lab Working Papers 10, Harvard's Growth Lab.
    5. Ricardo Hausmann & Jason Hwang & Dani Rodrik, 2007. "What you export matters," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-25, March.
    6. C. A. Hidalgo & B. Klinger & A. -L. Barabasi & R. Hausmann, 2007. "The Product Space Conditions the Development of Nations," Papers 0708.2090, arXiv.org.
    7. Hausmann, Ricardo & Klinger, Bailey, 2006. "Structural Transformation and Patterns of Comparative Advantage in the Product Space," Working Paper Series rwp06-041, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    8. Ricardo Hausmann & César Hidalgo, 2011. "The network structure of economic output," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 309-342, December.
    9. Justin Yifu Lin & Jianjun Xu, 2016. "Applying the Growth Identification and Facilitation Framework to the Least Developed Countries: The Case of Uganda," CDP Background Papers 032, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    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. Ferrarini, Benno & Scaramozzino, Pasquale, 2013. "Complexity, Specialization, and Growth," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 344, Asian Development Bank.
    2. Wonsub Eum & Jeong‐Dong Lee, 2022. "Alternative paths of diversification for developing countries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 2336-2355, November.
    3. Antonella Chiappelo & Alejandro Danón & Guillermina Marto & Nicolás Pinto, 2019. "Tell me what you export today and I will tell you what you will export tomorrow: The Product Space and the Evolution of Country pattern of specialization," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4171, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    4. Andreas Reinstaller & Elisabeth Christen & Harald Oberhofer & Peter Reschenhofer, 2016. "Eine Analyse der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Österreichs im bilateralen Handel mit den USA (TTIP)," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58723, January.
    5. Bahar, Dany & Rosenow, Samuel & Stein, Ernesto & Wagner, Rodrigo, 2019. "Export take-offs and acceleration: Unpacking cross-sector linkages in the evolution of comparative advantage," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 48-60.
    6. Alje van Dam & Koen Frenken, 2019. "Variety, Complexity and Economic Development," Papers 1903.07997, arXiv.org.
    7. Dany Bahar & Hillel Rapoport & Riccardo Turati, 2019. "Does Birthplace Diversity Affect Economic Complexity? Cross-Country Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 7950, CESifo.
    8. Andreas Reinstaller & Werner Hölzl & Johannes Kutsam & Christian Schmid, 2013. "The Development of Productive Structures of EU Member Countries and Their International Competitiveness," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 46823, January.
    9. Asier Minondo, 2011. "Does comparative advantage explain countries’ diversification level?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 147(3), pages 507-526, September.
    10. Hidalgo, César A., 2023. "The policy implications of economic complexity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    11. Christian Estmann & Bjørn Bo Sørensen & Benno Ndulu & John Rand, 2022. "Merchandise export diversification strategy for Tanzania: Promoting inclusive growth, economic complexity and structural change," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(8), pages 2649-2695, August.
    12. repec:wsr:ecbook:2015:i:vi-004 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Ulrich Schetter & Dario Diodato & Eric S. M. Protzer & Frank Neffke & Ricardo Hausmann, 2024. "From Products to Capabilities: Constructing A Genotypic Product Space," Growth Lab Working Papers 230, Harvard's Growth Lab.
    14. Petralia, Sergio & Balland, Pierre-Alexandre & Morrison, Andrea, 2017. "Climbing the ladder of technological development," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5), pages 956-969.
    15. Michael Klien & Michael Böheim & Matthias Firgo & Andreas Reinstaller & Peter Reschenhofer & Yvonne Wolfmayr, 2021. "Stärkung der Unabhängigkeit des Wirtschaftsstandortes Österreich bei kritischen Produkten," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 67234, January.
    16. Bustos, Sebastián & Yıldırım, Muhammed A., 2022. "Production Ability and economic growth," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    17. Caitlin Allen Whitehead & Haroon Bhorat, 2021. "Understanding Economic Complexity: An Application to the MER Sector," Working Papers 202105, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    18. Antonios Garas & Sophie Guthmuller & Athanasios Lapatinas, 2021. "The development of nations conditions the disease space," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(1), pages 1-35, January.
    19. Lyubimov, I. & Gvozdeva, M. & Kazakova, M. & Nesterova, K., 2017. "Economic Complexity of Russian Regions and their Potential to Diversify," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 94-122.
    20. Saurabh Mishra & Robert Koopman & Giuditta De-Prato & Anand Rao & Israel Osorio-Rodarte & Julie Kim & Nikola Spatafora & Keith Strier & Andrea Zaccaria, 2021. "AI Specialization for Pathways of Economic Diversification," Papers 2103.11042, arXiv.org.
    21. Güzin Bayar, 2022. "Turkey's sectoral exports: A competitiveness approach," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 2268-2289, April.

    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:devpol:v:39:y:2021:i:3:p:493-507. 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: https://edirc.repec.org/data/odioruk.html .

    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.