scholarly journals China’s Light Manufacturing and Africa’s Industrialization

Author(s):  
Justin Yifu Lin ◽  
Jiajun Xu

This chapter aims to explore whether and how China’s light manufacturing transfer can help to drive Africa’s industrialization. First, it examines the opportunities and challenges presented by the transfer of light manufacturing from contemporary China to low-wage developing countries from the historical perspective of the ‘flying geese’ pattern. Second, it uses first-hand survey data to explore how Chinese light manufacturing firms have coped with rising labour costs, what types of firms are more likely to relocate their manufacturing capacity to low-wage destinations, and where firms tend to relocate their production line. Third, it examines how ‘pilot’ Chinese light manufacturing firms have overcome first-mover challenges. Finally, it employs the analytical framework of New Structural Economics to make policy recommendations on how to mitigate binding constraints to help African countries seize the window of opportunity of industrial transfer from China to achieve economic structural transformation.

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-65
Author(s):  
Tapiwa V. Warikandwa ◽  
Patrick C. Osode

The incorporation of a trade-labour (standards) linkage into the multilateral trade regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been persistently opposed by developing countries, including those in Africa, on the grounds that it has the potential to weaken their competitive advantage. For that reason, low levels of compliance with core labour standards have been viewed as acceptable by African countries. However, with the impact of WTO agreements growing increasingly broader and deeper for the weaker and vulnerable economies of developing countries, the jurisprudence developed by the WTO Panels and Appellate Body regarding a trade-environment/public health linkage has the potential to address the concerns of developing countries regarding the potential negative effects of a trade-labour linkage. This article argues that the pertinent WTO Panel and Appellate Body decisions could advance the prospects of establishing a linkage of global trade participation to labour standards without any harm befalling developing countries.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malebakeng Forere

AbstractWhereas developed countries were the main players in the GATT dispute settlement mechanism, the era of the WTO saw a sharp increase in the developing countries’ participation in trade disputes. Thus, developing countries are active complainants and defendants in the WTO dispute settlement processes. Nevertheless, African states are still marginalised, and this situation has attracted attention of many scholars. As a result, scholars in the field have come up with many reasons to explain why African states do not appear as either complainants or respondents. The reasons for Africa’s non-participation have been argued to include cost of WTO litigation relative to the gains, low trade volumes, legal knowledge and non-integration of African countries in the WTO system. This article seeks to contribute to the existing literature on Africa’s non-participation in the WTO dispute settlement. The goal in this article is to confirm or dispel assumptions that African states have interests that they need to safeguard through dispute settlement but are inhibited from doing so because of the reasons mentioned above. Unlike other studies, the determination on Africa’s non-participation in the WTO dispute settlement will be approached from African states’ participation in intra-Africa RTA dispute settlement mechanisms. While there are six intra-Africa RTAs notified to the WTO, this work focuses on only two – East African Community and Southern Africa Development Community.


2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
María Verónica Alderete

<p>The role Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play in achieving a better organizational performance still needs further analysis among small and medium sized enterprises (SME) from developing countries. This study aims to extend the empirical literature on the relationship between ICT, electronic commerce and SME performance in developing countries. To achieve this goal, we employ a sample of 87 manufacturing firms from the city of Bahía Blanca, Argentina in the year 2015. By estimating a structural equation model, we obtain that electronic commerce adoption has a positive and significant influence on SME sales which is reinforced by the level of ICT use. Other organizational factors such as firm size and public programs explain performance, but are not significant predictors of the electronic commerce adoption. <strong></strong></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shilin Yuan ◽  
Haiyang Chen ◽  
Wei Zhang

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of host country corruption on foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to developing countries in Africa. With the opposing arguments that corruption is detrimental to or instrumental in FDI and mixed empirical evidence, this paper contributes to the literature by providing new evidence on the issue. Additionally, little research has been done on the impact of corruption on FDI made by developing country multinationals to developing countries. This paper fills a void in this area. Design/methodology/approach Based on the published literature, as well as China and Africa contexts, the authors develop hypotheses that host countries with low corruption receive more FDI and resource-seeking investments weaken the relationship. The annual stock of Chinese FDI in 35 African countries, host country corruption data and other control variables from 2007 to 2015 are collected. Feasible generalized least squares models are used to test the hypotheses. Additional robustness tests are also conducted. Findings The findings support the hypotheses. Specifically, Chinese investors make more investments in host countries with low corruption except for resource-seeking investments in resource-rich host counties. The results are statistically significant accounting for various control variables. The results of the robustness tests show that the main findings are robust. Originality/value First, this study provides new evidence on the impact of corruption on FDI. Second, this study also fills a void by examining FDI from a developing country, China to other developing countries in Africa. Finally, this study also has a practical implication for Chinese multinationals investing in Africa.


Author(s):  
Kamal Prasad Panthhe ◽  
C N Kokate

Tourism is an important source of foreign exchange earnings for the government and contributes to the livelihood of millions in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to explore and illuminate the preliminary impacts of COVID-19 in tourism sector in Nepal and further the paper puts forward policy recommendations for government to avert the worst effects and facilitate recovery. In Nepal, the travel and tourism sector contributes to 8 percent of GDP, 6.7 percent of total employment, and it generates 6 percent of the total foreign exchange earnings. Nepal Tourism Board estimates that loss of 85.2 billion USD monthly from tourism sector only and three in five employees lost their jobs due to COVID-19 in Nepal. The “Visit Nepal 2020” campaign had cancelled which aimed to attract 2 million tourists in the country this year. Tourism sector has already suffered a huge loss, and it is going to take quite to restore. The government should form special task force to create economic response package that will support Nepalese, their job, their businesses from the global impact of COVID-19, and to ready the economy to recover.Keywords: Covid-19, Tourism, Economy, Nepal.


Author(s):  
Priti Jain ◽  
Akakandelwa Akakandelwa

Increasingly, the importance of e-government is growing owing to higher quality delivery of government services, improved citizen empowerment through access to e-information, and better interactions between governments and their stakeholders. Despite all this recognition and appreciation of e-government, there is slow uptake and high failure of e-government in developing countries. A huge imbalance still remains between developed and developing countries, specifically in Africa because of numerous impediments. Africa lags far behind all other regions in the world. Some African countries have initiated e-government, such as Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa, yet others have not taken any initiative or are very slow in realizing its full take off, for instance, Tanzania, Botswana, and Zambia. In light of the above background, the main purpose of this chapter is to determine the challenges and based on the findings make recommendations for adoption of E-Government in Arica. The chapter reviews the theoretical underpinning of E-Government as a tool for modernizing public administration; examines the present state of e-government in Africa; highlights the challenges and barriers African countries encounter in their quest to develop E-Government; reviews the role of public libraries in E-Government, and finally, makes recommendations for E-Government adoption in Africa and other developing countries.


Author(s):  
Owais Hassan Shaikh ◽  
Yifat Nahmias

This chapter highlights the current developments in the area of intellectual property having direct consequence for the prospects of Africa's knowledge society. Even though African countries, especially the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), have not yet faced pressure from the EU, US, and EFTA for higher intellectual property standards, the situation may change soon with the imminent deadline for conclusion of Economic Partnership Agreements in 2014, the lapse of Africa Growth and Opportunities Act in 2015, and the expiry of the Cotonou Agreement in 2020. African countries will be well advised to decouple trade and intellectual property issues by promoting interregional trade or trade with other developing countries that do not demand TRIPS-Plus protection. They must also negotiate intellectual property within the ambit of the WTO.


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