Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/194729 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Citation: 
[Journal:] Cogent Economics & Finance [ISSN:] 2332-2039 [Volume:] 5 [Issue:] 1 [Publisher:] Taylor & Francis [Place:] Abingdon [Year:] 2017 [Pages:] 1-14
Publisher: 
Taylor & Francis, Abingdon
Abstract: 
Regional integration is the strategy adopted at the continental level to strengthen Africa's development. However, the different regional blocs already established on the continent face many challenges. Based on the economic integration of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) region, this research analyzes the role of participation to Global Value Chain (GVC) in international trade as a crucial factor. Using a gravity model with Panel using fixed effects, the findings show that intra-regional trade is not significant in the explanation of the trade openness degree of countries but an increase in backward integration to GVC raises trade openness. The results also indicate how the competitiveness of trade structure and the structural factors related to countries affect the performance of GVCs. Intra-regional trade must further be inserted in the production of final goods which involves the maximum number of countries for the intermediate steps.
Subjects: 
trade openness
regional integration
globalization
JEL: 
F13
F15
O14
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article

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