Abstract
The past few decades have witnessed a growth in the use of information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure as a catalyst for development in many countries. The growth in the worldwide ICT has resulted in globalization, enabling integration of financial markets among different countries in small geographical regions. This has led to intra-regional cooperation and trade. Trade is one of the cornerstones of economic development. It creates a larger regional economy from small and unequal national economies thereby promoting growth and sustainable development. The importance of intra-regional trade is to stimulate production capacity and competitiveness through exposing the domestic industries to intra-regional competition. This facilitates the regions’ ability to compete in international markets. In Africa, global and intra-regional trade has declined since 1970. In this study, the trend analysis of trade flows in Africa was explored. The analysis implies that the low level of trade was influenced by colonial legacy and that the lack of adequate ICT infrastructure is also one of the strong opposing factors to intra-African trade flows.
Recommended Citation
Bankole, Felix Olu; Brown, Irwin; and Osei-Bryson, Kweku-Muata, "Does investments in ICT impact Trade in Africa? A trend analysis of trade flows in Africa." (2010). GlobDev 2010. 17.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/globdev2010/17