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Abstract
This study focuses on public investments and policy reforms for
leveraging growth spillovers at the African regional level. A conceptual
framework that is built on the endogenous growth theory and the new economic
geography is presented first to gain a better understanding of the underlying
theory and empirical evidence on regional integration and growth spillovers. In
order to demonstrate the potential benefits from greater cross-border technology
spillovers in Africa, as well as from trade liberalization and investment in
infrastructure, results from ex-ante simulations using partial and general
equilibrium models are then presented and discussed. Results indicate that
sizeable regional spillover benefits can be obtained by permitting greater crossborder
transfer and adoption of improved technologies, sometimes as large as
three to four times the gain in direct benefits obtained within the innovating
countries. This is especially true for commodities like mutton, groundnuts and
sorghum. Moreover, reducing trade barriers between African countries in
agriculture and non-agriculture can significantly increase intra-regional
agricultural trade and raise economic growth rates. The simulations also
demonstrate that improving transportation infrastructure generates the most
encouraging results, increasing agricultural income by as much as 10%.
The findings in this study confirm that greater regional cooperation in
agricultural research and development, harmonization of regulatory standards for
technology adaptation, and harmonization and liberalization of trade systems
within the region could play a crucial role in expanding opportunities for African
farmers. Therefore, strengthening linkages among African countries through
infrastructure, agricultural R&D, and expansion of intraregional trade can
generate large spillovers and leverage regional growth.