RESEARCH WORKING PAPERS SERIES

The research unit is currently undertaking rigorous and extensive applied research on trade policy aspects relevant to TMA’s practice to be used to inform programming of the various aspects of aid for trade interventions and shape policy within the wider context in which TMA and our partners operate. The papers will be published in reputable international scientific journals and will be presented at various conferences and policy seminars and roundtable sessions. 

Upcoming applied research papers are as follows

  1. Trade Costs within the EAC region: This paper will look at major drivers and patterns of trade costs, Covid-19 effects on trade costs and trade cost effect on imports and exports with the EAC using rigours econometric models.
  2. Regional Value Chains – Industrialization-African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) nexus: This paper will critically examine the dynamics of regional value chains, how they work, level of firms and country participation, their contribution to industrialization and the potential of AFCFTA for intra-African trade, job creation and welfare gains using panel and country level data for analysis.
  3. Economic Assessment of single customs territory (SCT): This paper will rigorously assess the economic impact of SCT  with focus the economic level impacts of SCT on those involved e.g., Customs, Traders, Transporters and households with respect to examining aspect on: Number of transactions before and after; cost savings for customs, traders, transporters; trickle down household welfare gains from saving and cost efficiencies in terms of cheaper good? and What bottlenecks or opportunities have SCTs unlocked?
  4. Certification and Export performance: This paper will access the linkages and relationship between a firm’s certification and its export performance in terms of volume and value of goods and services exported using World Enterprise Survey data for African Countries