Regional Aid for Trade Effectiveness and Corridors – From Assessing Aid for Trade: Effectiveness, Current Issues and Future Directions

Aid for Trade (AfT) has been an integral part of official development assistance (ODA) since its inception at the World Trade Organization’s Hong Kong Ministerial in 2005. While many observers agree that the initiative has generated momentum in securing more trade support, the policy discourse on AfT continues to be vibrant and dynamic.

This volume, comprising 16 chapters prepared by 20 renowned experts from a range of international organisations, think tanks and academic institutions, including Commonwealth Secretariat, ODI, ECDPM, DIE, ICTSD, Saana Consulting, WTI Advisors, and Columbia University, provides a comprehensive review of the Aid for Trade initiative. 

Part I of this volume uses quantitative and qualitative analysis to examine the effectiveness of different components of Aid for Trade and underlying factors affecting the outcomes. Part II provides analyses of current issues, including regional AfT, global value chains, infrastructure for development for agriculture, AfT adjustment and lessons from emerging economies in aiding exports. Part III looks to the future, proposing a range of possible directions including an alternative way to improve trade outcomes for developing countries from Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

Chapter Eight has been written By ECDPM's Bruce Byiers and Programme Associate Dan Lui. Assessing Aid for Trade: Effectiveness, Current Issues and Future Directions can be obtained here.

8. Regional Aid for Trade Effectiveness and Corridors by Bruce Byiers and Dan Lui

8.1 Introduction
8.2 Regional Aid for Trade in sub-Saharan Africa: an overview
8.2.1 Regional Aid for Trade flows
8.2.2 Evaluation to date of regional Aid for Trade and its effectiveness
8.3 Improving the effectiveness of regional Aid for Trade: challenges and opportunities
8.3.1 The policy context for regional AfT effectiveness: principles and policy responses
8.3.2 Key challenges to improving regional Aid for Trade
8.3.3 Implementation issues around regional AfT
8.4 The corridor approach and regional AfT effectiveness
8.4.1 Corridors overview
8.4.2 Corridors in policy 
8.4.3 Corridors in practice
8.5 Conclusions
8.5.1 AfT flows
8.5.2 Institutions
8.5.3 Corridors as a tool for more effective AfT?