ABSTRACT
Many African countries began the process of reforming their trade, investment and exchange rate regimes around the mid-1980s; this process gathered pace through the 1990s as the reforms both widened in terms of country coverage and deepened in several countries. These reforms constitute a reflection, in most cases, of a shift from an inward-looking and import-substituting industrialization strategy to an outward-oriented and export-led development strategy. Correspondingly, the primary focus of policy gradually began to reflect increased concern for raising the profile of the export sector and, more specifically, for achieving the goal of significantly expanding and diversifying African exports. In this context, the emerging strategy appears to have at least two components, i.e., seeking improved external market access for a much wider range of African's export products, as well as seeking ways to eliminate the export supply response constraints which have hindered the growth and diversification of the region's export basket. An integral part of this second component of the strategy consists of measures aimed at improving the incentives for exporting activities.
