ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the drivers of integration, and looks at their successes and limitation in providing regional public goods that anchor greater integration, political stability, and economic opportunity. The wave of African independence movements in the early 1960s gave rise to the first efforts toward African-led regional cooperation. An integral part of regional cooperation agreements are specific trade arrangements offering preferential market access to neighbors. Regional trading agreements offer an opportunity to establish cooperative arrangements across multiple government activities and markets. Governments in Africa have developed regional arrangements to promote several collaborative efforts to deepen trade ties—importantly, trade facilitation, physical infrastructure, and services. Regional collective actions, often with the support of donors, are helping to ameliorate these deficits. The slow progress on trade facilitation and slow integration of services markets and their resulting high costs has undermined the otherwise positive trade benefits of RTAs.
