This chapter provides a comprehensive review of classical and modern theories of international trade, contextualized within the African experience. It begins with foundational theories such as mercantilism, absolute cost advantage, comparative cost…
The need to re-engineer growth in Africa has become increasingly glaring in the face of the prevailing economic shocks that exposed their inadequate productivity power for basic and vital food and drugs. According to the World Bank and several other…
This paper, presented at the 2nd SADC Community Law Seminar, critically examines the role of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) legal infrastructure in promoting women’s economic empowerment as a pathway to regional trade and…
This policy paper explores the crucial intersection of e-commerce and financial architecture in the context of trade in services in Lesotho. According to the World Bank, the services sector accounted for 49.17% of Lesotho's GDP in 2021, followed by…
This policy brief, presented at a research seminar organized by the National University of Lesotho – WTO Research Chair, explores the role of international trade in services, with a particular focus on e-commerce and its implications for the Lesotho…
International trade remains one of the key indicators of economic welfare of any economy. It directly increases foreign exchange earnings, meets consumer demand for foreign goods and increases production. Indirectly, it potentially increases…
Health pandemics affect women and men differently, and they can make the existing gender inequalities much worse. COVID-19 is one such pandemic, which can have substantial gender implications both during and in the post-pandemic world. Its economic…
This chapter provides an overview of the growing influence of both labour standards and gender equality concerns in contemporary trade debates, and in particular how existing FTAs have increasingly accommodated both types of issues. In the following…
In recent years, more and more countries have included different kinds of gender considerations in their trade agreements. Yet many countries have still not signed their very first agreement with a gender equality-related provision. Though most of…
The increasing trend of the inclusion of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment concerns in the negotiation of trade agreements creates a need to strengthen informed dialogue between the public and private sectors. Trade negotiators are…