Journal of Global Trade, Ethics and Law

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2023): Journal of Global Trade, Ethics and Law
Articles

The ethics of African regional and continental integration

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  • Dirk Kohnert
Dirk Kohnert
GIGA-Institute for African Affairs
Bio

Published 2023-07-01

Keywords

  • AfCFTA,
  • Regional Integration,
  • Ethics,
  • Sub-Saharan Africa,
  • International Trade,
  • SADC,
  • ECOWAS
    • ...More
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How to Cite

The ethics of African regional and continental integration. (2023). Journal of Global Trade, Ethics and Law, 1(2), 43-65. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8083250

Abstract

Economists around the world agree that promoting intra-regional trade is an important driver of economic growth. This is also true for Africa, which, however, with a share of less than 3 %, has so far only played a marginal role in world trade. The decision of African leaders on the creation of an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in 2018 was not merely a political decision with economic implications. There is no meaningful alternative to regional integration. For without it, unrestrained growth according to the neoclassical model would rule the world, with all its negative effects on the most backward regions and economic sectors, the poor and other disadvantaged sections of the population, especially in Africa. Yet, it has significant and complex ethical dimensions too. This, not only concerning a possible trade-off between economic growth and well-being, employment, remittances, corruption, the depletion of natural resources and related ecological and gender problems. AfCFTA will also impact on growing xenophobia, nationalism and populism, the likely outcome of growing capital and labour mobility.

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