Richard Gibb

Regional Integration and Africa's Development Trajectory: meta-theories, expectations and reality

Abstract Regional integration remains an integral part of Africas development strategy and has underpinned most pan-African development policies for the past 50 years. This paper explores the issue of regional integration in the context of ‘development’ theory and the neo-patrimonial state system in Africa. A central contention of the paper is that Western, Euro-centric conceptions of regionalism, particularly those centred on the market integration approach, have promoted a very biased understanding of regional integration in many parts of the developing world. Using southern Africa as an exemplar case study, the paper argues that the various meta-theories focused on explaining the political economy of regionalism, often closely allied to a development theory paradigm, fail to account for the nature, character and evolution of regional integration. Regional integration in sub-Saharan Africa has been conceived and analysed in the light of the market-led approach, modernity and development. Thus far, it is has failed. This paper therefore explores why market-led regional integration has failed and why, for the foreseeable future, it will continue to do so.

Trading Blocs and Multilateralism in the World Economy

The resurgence of continental trading blocs throughout the 1980s will influence the nature and evolution of the world economy in the 1990s and beyond. In this paper, we argue that classical economic analysis of trading blocs is inconclusive, and regionalism cannot be understood in economic terms alone. We focus on an examination of the relationship that exists between trading bloc formation and more fundamental economic and social trends taking place in the industrialized economies since the Second World War. Our contention is that regionalism represents one of the most fundamental restructuring processes affecting the world economy since the principles of international trade were established at the Bretton Woods Conference. Regionalism and multilateralism represent competing, but not necessarily mutually exclusive, principles underpinning economic integration and trade in the global economy. The end products of this competition are the two potentially complementary, spatial processes of trade bloc format...

Regional Integration in Post-Apartheid Southern Africa: The Case of Renegotiating the Southern African Customs Union

Regional economic cooperation and integration throughout southern Africa is experiencing a fundamental realignment in the post‐apartheid era. This paper examines what is widely regarded as one of the most effectively functioning trade arrangements in Africa: the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) between Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS) and South Africa. It is shown that the Customs Union is extremely important for South Africa and crucial for the BLNS countries. Since the late 1970s, however, the member states of SACU have been dissatisfied with its functioning and performance. In the context of the present renegotiations, the current paper examines some of the key features of the Union and the positions of BLNS and South Africa. It is argued that SACU cannot be understood in regional terms alone. Multilateralism and international regionalism, although associated with different modes of international regulation, have an important influence on the nature and evolution of trading arrangem...

The privatization of British Rail

Abstract The privatization of public-sector industries has been a key policy of the UK Conservative government since the 1979 general election. As well as the public utilities such as gas, electricity and water, the transport industry has experienced massive restructuring in the form of privatization and deregulation intended to promote competition and engender a more flexible market-place. This paper examines the privatization of British Rail and evaluates the changing policy objectives and potential impacts of rail privatization.

The Channel Tunnel and regional economic development

Abstract It is widely argued that the regional economic benefits of the Channel Tunnel will be confined to south-east England. The current paper challenges this proposition, arguing instead that the opportunities created could be spread more equitably than previously predicted. Economic potential analysis, a policy evaluation and a questionnaire of business attitudes are used to examine the potential regional economic impacts of the Channel Tunnel. It is concluded that the quality of the rail network and, in particular, the beyond London international rail services are crucial to the regionalization of Channel Tunnel benefits.

Southern Africa in transition: prospects and problems facing regional integration

The successful conclusion to South Africas first all-race elections in April 1994 marked a turning point for political and economic relations throughout the whole of Southern Africa, not least since the regional ‘superpower’ which the sub-continent had previously tried to isolate was invited to participate in regional organisations. However, the ending of apartheid , unquestioningly the single most important factor determining the nature and evolution of future integrative efforts, has to be examined alongside other significant changes affecting Southern Africa throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Most importantly, the structural adjustment programmes instigated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), together with the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), resulted in a greater emphasis on economic liberalisation and political democratisation. Consequently, Southern Africas most important regional arrangements (as shown in Figure 1) are all in a state of transformation as they endeavour to respond to the new environment. The Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) have already changed, or are in the process of renegotiating, their treaties and constitutions.

Competition, Regulation, and the Privatisation of British Rail

The privatisation programme pursued by successive Conservative administrations in the 1979–97 period was based on neoliberal values, and was aimed at the reduction of public sector involvement in industry by the promotion of a competitive ‘free’ market. However, despite this ideological objective, several large utility companies were privatised as regulated monopolies. Against this background, in a notable reorientation of privatisation policy, the Major administration attempted to secure a genuine movement towards market liberalisation when it divested British Rail (BR). An elaborate methodology was used to break BRs monopoly and establish a competitive market for the provision of passenger rail services. The authors argue that, notwithstanding the complexity of the rail sell-off, competition has not materialised and BRs monopoly has to ail intents and purposes been reconstituted in the private sector.

Continental trading blocs : the growth of regionalism in the world economy

Regionalism in the World Economy The Political Economy of Trading Blocs The European Community Regional Integration in Eastern Europe The Commonwealth of Independent States The North American Free Trade Area: An Overview of Issues and Prospects Regional Integration in Latin America: The Revival of a Concept? Regional Economic Integration in Post-Apartheid Southern Africa The West Pacific Rim Conclusion: Regionalism in Perspective.

The New Southern African Customs Union Agreement: Dependence with Democracy

The history and character of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) make it a remarkable institution. It is the oldest customs union in the world and the most stable, coherent and significant economic grouping on the African continent. Established in 1910, the SACU Agreement was first renegotiated in 1969, following the independence of the High Commission Territories, and again in 2004, following the democratisation of South Africa. The defining characteristic of SACU is the unusually high degree of inequality in the levels of development amongst its member states. South Africas dominance in the region was ‘hard-wired’ into the geopolitical and regional economic landscape of SACU during the colonial, postcolonial and apartheid periods. This article examines the character of the political and institutional infrastructures of the 1910, 1969 and 2004 SACU Agreements. The article explores in detail the new 2004 Agreement, in the context of the main criticisms levelled at the previous agreements, and examines the extent to which it represents a fundamental break with past practice.

REGULATION AND CONTINUING MONOPOLY ON BRITAIN'S RAILWAYS

Abstract One of the key objectives of rail privatization was to dismantle British Rails (BRs) monopoly and introduce a competitive spirit into the industry. In order to achieve this, BR was fragmented into 92 separate companies. This restructuring is now complete and, at the time of writing, slightly more than two-thirds of these new companies have been divested. Despite this, the government is taking regulatory steps to prevent the competition it wanted to promote and there are signs that a private monopoly has already begun to rise from the ashes of the public one. This paper explores the governments apparently paradoxical regulatory stance and questions the necessity of such a major restructuring exercise within the railway industry.