International Competitiveness in Africa

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XI

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2. Introduction

   • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

   Pages 1-3

3. Trade and Economic Growth

   • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

   Pages 5-16

4. FDI and Economic Growth

   • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

   Pages 17-25

5. Trade Competitiveness: Exchange Rate and Inflation

   • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

   Pages 27-49

6. Trade Competitiveness:Exchange Rate, Productivity, and Export Price

   • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

   Pages 51-60

7. FDI Competitiveness

   • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

   Pages 61-70

8. Productivity Determinants

   • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

   Pages 71-78

9. Sustainability of Trade Accounts

   • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

   Pages 79-104

10. Trade Balance and the Terms of Trade

    • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

    Pages 105-133

11. Purchasing Power Parity

    • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

    Pages 135-160

12. Concluding Remarks

    • Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa, Shigeyuki Hamori

    Pages 161-163

13. Back Matter

    Pages 165-167

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The effects of international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) on developing economies have always been controversial. From about the 1980s, however, the countries adopting open policies have tended to o- perform those adopting closed policies. The former, essentially the eco- mies of Asia and some countries of Latin America, have grown faster than the latter, the economies of sub-Saharan Africa. With the unstoppable spread of globalization and the supremacy of “open” policies over “closed” ones, the debate between “participating” and “not participating” in the world economy has been superseded by discussions on the best p- icy measures for expanding participation and enhancing the accrued w- fare gains. The countries of sub-Saharan Africa have no choice but to take part in international trade and investment. Policies to strengthen inter- tional competitiveness are almost unanimously considered crucial means towards those ends. A key way of making a country more competitive is to strengthen its international competitiveness in trade and investment. Competitiveness in international trade is defined, in the present analysis, as the ability of a country to produce and sell goods in the international market at a lower price than competitor countries. Competitiveness in international inve- ment, on the other hand, is understood as the ability of a country to attract large inflows of foreign investment. Given that competitors also strive to increase their abilities to sell goods and attract, the study takes a dynamic approach, as opposed to a static approach, to comparative advantage.

• Developing Economies
• Export
• Foreign Direct Investment
• Import
• International Competitiveness Policy
• International Trade
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• Time Series Analysis

• Director of Economic Affairs Presidency of the Republic of Madagascar BP 955, Antananarivo 101

  Ivohasina Fizara Razafimahefa

• Kobe University 2-1, Rokkodai, Japan

  Shigeyuki Hamori

Policies and ethics