Description:
This report assesses some of the key
barriers to greater trade and factor market integration in
the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). The SADC
has been a free trade area since 2008, and has an ambitious
agenda for further trade integration. This report assesses
the roles that cross-country differences in business
environments have had in impeding cross-border trade flows
and the cross-border integration of credit markets and the
labor market based on the analysis of microeconomic data on
firms and households. The aim of the assessment is to help
inform the policy and business environment harmonization
agenda of the community. The full report discusses and
illustrates the use of price data in monitoring
intraregional trade integration. The report evaluates the
extent of integration of labor markets among members the
statistical agencies of which regularly collect the minimum
data required for this purpose, which are South Africa,
Mauritius, Tanzania, and Zambia. The results show that,
although there is considerable integration of South
Africa's labor market with many others in the region,
the degree of integration is rather low. This reflects the
fact that both trade and capital flows are far more
restricted in the region than in places where there is
greater cross-border labor market integration.