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Regional Integration: Do Intra-African Trade and Migration Improve Income in Africa?

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  • Blaise Gnimassoun

Abstract

Regional integration in Africa is a subject of great interest, but its impact on income has not been studied sufficiently. Using cross-sectional and panel estimations, this article examines the impact of African integration on real per capita income in Africa. Accordingly, we consider intra-African trade and migration flows as quantitative measures reflecting the intensity of regional integration. To address the endogeneity concerns, we use a gravity-based, two-stage least-squares strategy. Our results show that, from a long-term perspective, African integration has not been strong enough to generate a positive, significant, and robust impact on real per capita income in Africa. However, it does appear to be significantly income-enhancing in the short and medium terms but only through intercountry migration. These results are robust to a wide range of specifications.

Suggested Citation

  • Blaise Gnimassoun, 2020. "Regional Integration: Do Intra-African Trade and Migration Improve Income in Africa?," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 43(6), pages 587-631, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:43:y:2020:i:6:p:587-631
    DOI: 10.1177/0160017619874852
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    Cited by:

    1. Coulibaly, Dramane & Gnimassoun, Blaise & Mignon, Valérie, 2020. "The tale of two international phenomena: Migration and global imbalances," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Blaise Gnimassoun, 2019. "How to Boost the Impact of Intra-African Trade on Income in Africa?," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 541-557, July.
    3. Aliyu, Shehu Usman Rano & Salissu, Afees & Kale, Oyeyemi, 2024. "Migration and Youth Unemployment in Africa: Implications for the African Continental Free Trade Area," MPRA Paper 121437, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 22 Jun 2024.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    income per capita; trade; international migration; economic integration; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E64 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Incomes Policy; Price Policy
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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