Many reports have described Chinese engagement in Africa as “neo-imperialism” and “authoritarian capitalism”, exploiting resources and local labour while undermining democracy.
This working paper, by Alfaro-Urena, Manelici and Vasquez (2019), investigates the effects of becoming a supplier to multinational corporations (MNCs) using administrative data tracking all firm-to-firm transactions in Costa Rica.
Sialkot, Pakistan, is the world center of hand-stitched soccer-ball manufacturing. The existence of the cluster is puzzling and seems to argue against the "home market effect", since there is little local demand for soccer balls.
Industrial policy is back on the African policy agenda, with a number of countries following new strategies for rapid industrialization. None have done so more eagerly than Ethiopia.
By exploring the patterns and trends of Kenya’s exports overtime, this project shows the important role of multi-product and multi-destination exporters in the expansion of exports for low income countries.
Movements of the Ethiopian Birr against the USD, the major currency of trade invoicing, matter more for prices and trade volumes than do movements of the Birr against trading partners’ currencies.
Distance between buyers and sellers can create search and contracting problems: how to find out what goods are available in far away places, and ensure they are actually delivered?
This paper by Xiaoyang (2016) uses Ghana as a case study to illustrate the extent to which Chinese manufacturing firms are driving manufacturing in an African country.
