Regionalizing Infrastructure for Deepening Market Integration: The Case of East Africa

30 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Ioannis Kessides

Ioannis Kessides

World Bank; World Bank

Nancy Benjamin

World Bank; U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Date Written: June 1, 2012

Abstract

The East African Community has long recognized that regional economic integration can yield significant welfare gains to its member states. To that end, the community has been making steady progress towards the removal of tariffs and quantitative restrictions to trade. Moreover, in recent years, there has been an increasing recognition that: (a) even greater welfare gains could be realized through deeper forms of regional integration which entail harmonization of legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks; and (b) reforms that reduce cross-border transaction costs and improve the performance of "backbone" infrastructure services are arguably even more important for the creation of an open, unified regional economic space than trade policy reforms narrowly defined. Disparities of regulatory treatment across borders can introduce distortions that hinder both cross-border trade and the aggregate flows of investment on a regional basis. Regulatory harmonization and infrastructure regionalization could make a significant contribution to the region's economic development by promoting a more efficient utilization of its human and physical resources, enhancing connectivity, reducing the costs of trade, and facilitating the integration of the continent with the global economy.

Keywords: Transport Economics Policy & Planning, Regional Economic Development, Trade and Regional Integration, Emerging Markets, Economic Theory & Research

Suggested Citation

Kessides, Ioannis N. and Kessides, Ioannis N. and Benjamin, Nancy, Regionalizing Infrastructure for Deepening Market Integration: The Case of East Africa (June 1, 2012). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6113, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2096782

Ioannis N. Kessides (Contact Author)

World Bank

1818 H Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20433
United States

World Bank

1818 H Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Nancy Benjamin

World Bank

1818 H Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20433
United States

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

1800 M. Street NW
Room N5142
Washington, DC 20036-5831
United States

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