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Morley, David - The Cambridge introduction to creative writing (2011) - libgen.li
| Africa’s Silk Road examines the trends to date and considers the implications of these developments for the economic future of the African continent. The diagnosis cautions that the opportunities engendered by China and India’s trade and investment with Africa will not necessarily be converted into growth and poverty reduction in the region. A critical finding of the study is that it is not just the quantity of these trade and investment flows that matters—it is also the quality of the overall commercial relationships underlying as well as shaping these flows. Both African and Asian policymakers need to devise appropriate policy responses to make the quality of these relationships even better. For China Foreword xix 00a-Front:00a-Front 10/10/06 11:22 AM Page xix xx AFRICA ’ S SILK ROAD : CHINA AND INDIA ’ S NEW ECONOMIC FRONTIER and India, the study points to the need for reform of policies that inhibit the potential export of Africa’s products. This includes, among other things, elimination of the escalating tariffs that make high valued-added exports from Africa commercially unviable in Chinese and Indian markets. On the African side, the main challenge is how to make best use of the positive spillover effects that Asian investments are having on the continent. Clearly, improving the competitiveness of African domestic markets is a priority. So, too, is the creation of sound institutions, so that when commercial opportunities do arise they can be effectively exploited, taking advantage of knowledge and technology transfers and paving the way for job creation. Furthermore, while there is scope for African countries to apply certain aspects of the industrial policy measures utilized in Asia, the lessons from those experiences suggest that a cautious approach be adopted. In all of these cases the opportunity-challenge nexus is very much a factor. In general, policies should help tilt the outcomes in favor of the opportunity side. Most important, reforms need to be country-specific. We in the international development community also need to play a proactive role in supporting African countries to help strengthen their institutional capacities, improve governance and transparency— particularly in the extractive and natural resources industries—and facilitate domestic economic adjustments to rising Chinese and Indian competition. Africa’s Silk Road is the first of anew series of studies from the Africa Region of the World Bank Group. Forthcoming studies will focus on facing the continent’s growth challenge, developing African financial markets, and filling Africa’s infrastructure gap.” Gobind T. Nankani Regional Vice President for Africa 00a-Front:00a-Front 10/10/06 11:22 AM Page xx xxi This study was prepared by Harry Broadman, with key contributions from Gozde Isik, Sonia Plaza, Xiao Ye, and Yutaka Yoshino. Additional contributions came from Magdi Amin, Joseph Battat, Melissa Bennett, William Butterfield, Stephan Dreyhaupt, Vivien Foster, Chung Hoon Hwang, Beata Smarzynska Javorcik, Annemarie Meisling, Maiko Miyake, Cecilia Sager, Uma Subramanian, Lesley Wentworth, Robert Whyte, Wenhe Zhang, and Xin Zhuo. The peer reviewers were Alan Gelb, Richard Newfarmer, and Simeon Djankov. The team thanks them for their very helpful comments and suggestions. The study benefited from other useful comments, suggestions and information provided at various stages by Demba Ba, Deepak Bhattasali, Paul Brenton, David Bridgman, Shantayanan Devarajan, Philip English, Ejaz Ghani, Bernard Hoekman, Giuseppe Iarossi, Elke Kreuzwieser, Daniel Led- erman, Muthukumara Mani, Will Martin, Jacques Morriset, Gobind Nankani, Benno Ndulu, Marcelo Olarreaga, John Page, John Panzer, Lucy Payton, Sanjivi Rajasingham, Dilip Ratha, Onno Rühl, Ritva Reinikka, Jorge Saba Arbache, Sudhir Shetty, Jee-Peng Tan, Anthony Thompson, Dileep Wagle, and Kangbin Zheng. Preliminary results from the research underlying this study were presented at ABCDE 2006, held in Tokyo (May 29–30, 2006). The comments and insights given were helpful in sharpening the analysis. Download 5.17 Mb. Share with your friends:
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