Working Paper 109 - The First Africa Region Review for EAC/COMESA

The main objective of this paper is to present a mapping of trade-relatedbottlenecks in the EAC/COMESA region to eligible aid-for-trade (AFT)categories, and to articulate a strategy for mobilising significant amounts of aidfor trade. To do so, the paper reviews the constraints to trade in EAC/COMESA.It identifies existing AFT-related programmes and activities, and documents thestatus of their implementation, pointing out any gaps and the causes thereof.The paper is based on the premise that the EAC/COMESA region faces uniqueand severe constraints to trade related to the fact that many of the memberstates are land-locked. This, combined with poor infrastructure and services,cumbersome border procedures, inadequate mainstreaming of trade in nationaldevelopment strategies, and lack of progress in deepening economic integration,explains the region’s dismal trade performance, both intra-regionally andexternally. AEC/COMESA is aware of these constraints. The region haslaunched various initiatives to tackle them. The majority of these initiatives relateto trade facilitation measures.The North-South Corridor is one trade-related infrastructure project that hasattracted attention in the region, both by virtue of its scale and purported benefits.Even though the implementation of the project was slow initially, the politicalimpetus during the North-South Corridor High Level meeting in Lusaka, Zambiain April 2009 attracted financing in the region of US$1.2 billion. As the first pilot inEast Africa, the North-South Corridor clearly shows that Aid for trade can play akey role in sustaining ongoing efforts to overcome bottlenecks to trade.The key message is that an effective AFT strategy should focus primarily ontrade facilitation, with some emphasis on trade-related infrastructure. Sincesubstantial aid has traditionally been directed to technical assistance andcapacity building, and the trend is likely to continue, there is no need to build thiselement into the strategy per se. Such a strategy must: (a) Emphasise thecontribution of trade facilitation measures in reducing trade costs and enhancingexport competitiveness; (b) demonstrate the added benefits of modern traderelatedinfrastructure; (c) demonstrate the political will by the EAC/COMESAmember states to address the region’s constraints in the spirit of cooperation andsolidarity to landlocked neighbours; and (d) impress on the donor community theneed for greater AFT resources to help the region participate fully in global tradeand attain the MDGs.The Aid for Trade agenda should also highlight the importance of monitoring toshow its impact on trade and development. In this case, the EAC/COMESAregion should maintain a database of Aid for Trade for monitoring and evaluationpurposes.

Protective effect of ischemic postconditioning on lung ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats and the role of heme oxygenase-1

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of ischemic postconditioning (IPO) on acute lung ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and the protein expression of haeme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), a cytoprotective defense against oxidative injury.MethodsAfter being anesthetized with chloralhydrate, forty-eight healthy SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (8 in each): sham operation group (S group); I/R group: left lung hilum was clamped for 40 minutes followed by 105 minutes of reperfusion; IPO group: left lung hilum was clamped for 40 minutes and postconditioned by 3 cycles of 30 seconds of reperfusion and 30 seconds of reocclusion; Hemin (HM)+ I/R group: hemin, an inducer of HO-1 was injected intraperitoneally at 40 μmol·kg−1 ·day−1 for two consecutive days prior to 40 minutes clamping of left lung hilum; ZnPPIX+IPO group: zinc protoporphyrin IX, an inhibitor of HO-1 was injected intraperitoneally at 20 mg·kg−1 24 hours prior to 40 minutes clamping of left lung hilum; and HM+S group: H M was administered as in the HM+I/R group without inducing lung I/R. Arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in serum were assessed. The left lung was removed for determination of wet/dry lung weight ratio and expression of HO-1 protein by immuno-his-tochemical technique and for light microscopic examination.ResultsThe PaO2 was significantly lower in all the experimental groups compared with sham group (90 mm Hg ± 11 mm Hg). However, the values of PaO2 in IPO (81 mm Hg ± 7 mm Hg) and HM+I/R (80 mm Hg ± 9 mm Hg) were higher than that in I/R (63 mm Hg ± 9 mm Hg) and ZnPPIX+IPO (65 mm Hg±8 mm Hg) groups (P<0.01). The protein expression of HO-1 in lung tissue was significantly increased in I/R group compared with S group (P<0.01). While the HO-1 protein expression was higher in IPO and HM+I/R groups as compared with I/R group (P<0.05, P<0.01). The lung wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio and MDA content in serum were significantly increased in I/R group as compared with S or HM+S groups (P<0.01), accompanied by severe lung tissue histological damage, which was attenuated either by IPO or by HM pretreatment (P<0.01, IPO or HM+I/R vs. I/R). The protective effect of IPO was abolished by ZnPPIX.ConclusionIschemic postconditioning can attenuate the lung ischemia-reperfusion injury through upregulating the protein expression of HO-1 that leads to reduced post-ischemic oxidative damage

Ischaemic post-conditioning protects lung from ischaemia-reperfusion injury by up-regulation of haeme oxygenase-1

Objective: The emergence of ischaemic post-conditioning (IPO) provides a potential method for experimentally and clinically attenuating various types of organ injuries. There has been little work, however, examining its effects in the setting of lung ischaemia reperfusion (IR). The stress protein, haeme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), has been found to exert a potent, protective role in a variety of lung injury models. In this study, we hypothesised that the induction of HO-1 by IPO plays a protective role against the deleterious effects of IR in the lung. Methods: Anaesthetised and mechanically ventilated adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of the following groups (n = 8 each): the sham-operated control group, the IR group (40 min of left-lung ischaemia and 105 min of reperfusion), the IPO group (three successive cycles of 30-s reperfusion per 30-s occlusion before restoring full perfusion) and the ZnPPIX + IPO group (ZnPPIX, an inhibitor of HO-1, was injected intra-peritoneally at 20 mg kg -1 24 h prior to the experiment and the rest of the procedures were similar to that of the IPO group). Lung injury was assessed by arterial blood gas analysis, wet-to-dry lung weight ratio and tissue histological changes. The extent of lipid peroxidation was determined by measuring plasma levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) production. Expression of HO-1 was determined by immunohistochemistry. Results: Lung IR resulted in a significant reduction of PaO 2 (data in IR, P < 0.05 vs. data in sham) and increase of lung wet-to-dry weight ratio, accompanied with increased MDA production and severe lung pathological morphological changes as well as a compensatory increase in HO-1 protein expression, as compared with sham (All P < 0.05). IPO markedly attenuated all the above pathological changes seen in the IR group and further increased HO-1 expression. Treatment with ZnPPIX abolished all the protective effects of post-conditioning. Conclusion: It may be concluded that IPO protects IR-induced lung injury via induction of HO-1. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.postprin

The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in a Comparative Perspective: Is there a Bias against Sub-Saharan Africa?

This paper explores the determinants of foreign direct investment in a comparative perspective and looks for evidence of a bias on the part of foreign investors against sub-Saharan Africa. The paper examines whether Africa's tiny share of world FDI flows is a consequence of inappropriate policies or a general investor bias against the region (perhaps due to the lingering effects of bad reputation). The empirical results suggest that Africa's marginalization in the global competition for FDI is of its own making – the result of a generally inferior investment environment. The findings also reveal important differences in the determinants of FDI between SSA countries and the rest of the world.Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment, Sub-Saharan Afric

The Effect of Trade Liberalization on Export-Oriented Output and FDI: A Case Study of the Mauritian EPZ, 1971-1998

The export-processing zone in Mauritius has existed side-by-side with a highly protected importcompeting sector. The enclave status of an EPZ is supposed, in theory, to insulate the zone against the extra-zone protectionist regime. In that case, will trade liberalization affect EPZ activity? This is the question that the paper seeks to investigate: theoretically, by constructing models of exported-oriented FDI and an EPZ-based economy à la Heckscher-Ohlin and considering the feedback effects between the two when trade is liberalized and empirically using data from the Mauritian economy over the period 1971-1998. It is shown that a tariff cut leads to an initial expansion of EPZ activity that is subsequently magnified by induced FDI flows and domestic investment in the zone. The paper finds that the most important phase of trade reform – that started in 1984 – had a marked impact on both domestic and foreign investment in the EPZ, resulting in a significant increase in EPZ production and export in line with the predictions of the theoretical model.Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment, Trade Liberalization, Export-Processing Zone, MauritiusJEL Classification: F13 F14 F2

David v. Goliath : Mauritius facing up to China; a draft scoping study

The table of contents for this item can be shared with the requester. The requester may then choose one chapter, up to 10% of the item, as per the Fair Dealing provision of the Canadian Copyright ActMauritius is an outlier among Sub-Saharan Africa. As a small island economy, with no natural resources, Mauritius economic survival rests crucially on an openness strategy pushed to its limits. This study focuses on trade, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and aid. Since Mauritius can no longer rely on preferential market access to sell its products, especially textiles, local firms need to be more competitive to survive and in this spirit, the government abolished the differential incentive scheme for non-EPZ firms by abrogating the Industrial Expansion Act. These measures enabled the clothing industry to restructure to meet the challenges posed by globalization generally, and by China, in particular