Liberalization of trade and factor mobility within Africa and the promotion of emergence of complementarities as a basis for the expansion of intra-African trade : case study for Eastern and Southern African subregion

Abstract

The shift toward a more liberal trade regime has been in response to the deep crises which have faced the international economy during the past two decades. The shocks took heavy toll on economic performance; as a result, growth fundamentals became poor predictors of growth performance. Liberalization as measured in terms of economic openness was therefore one of the instruments used to respond to the crises. Indeed, the free market paradigm and outward-oriented policies became the central pillars in the formulation of international and national policies. In the process, the whole liberalization programme has been assisted by the new information technology which has exposed citizens’ worid-wide to the existence of opportunities everywhere.