Assessing Competitiveness After Conflict: The Case of the Central African Republic
IMF Working Papers, December 1, 2006
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Mark W Lewis, Jean-Claude Nachega, Said A Bakhache, Kadima D. Kalonji
- Published: December 1, 2006
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451865639.001
Scope and Methods
- Assesses competitiveness in the Central African Republic, a postconflict country.
- Presents several conventional techniques for assessing competitiveness:
- Real exchange rate analysis.
- Recent trade performance analysis.
- Considers several other measures that may better capture post-conflict obstacles:
- Transport costs.
- Governance measures.
- Emphasis on measures that reflect the effects of poor security environment and weak institutions common to many post-conflict situations.
Key Findings
- Real exchange rate measure and trade measures:
- Suggest some mild erosion of competitiveness in recent years.
- Transport cost and governance measures:
- Indicate that the competitiveness challenges faced by the Central African Republic are much deeper than implied by conventional measures.
Thematic Implications
- Conventional indicators (real exchange rate; trade performance) may understate competitiveness problems in post-conflict settings.
- High transport costs and weak governance are central barriers to restoring and improving competitiveness in the Central African Republic.
- The interaction of poor security, weak institutions, transport infrastructure, and governance exacerbates competitiveness constraints beyond currency and trade metrics.
Policy-Relevant Conclusions
- Assessments of competitiveness in post-conflict countries should supplement conventional indicators with measures of transport costs and governance to capture deeper obstacles.
- Policy responses aiming to restore competitiveness should address:
- Reductions in transport costs (infrastructure, logistics, connectivity).
- Improvements in governance and security to mitigate institutional barriers to trade and investment.
Source: IMF Working Paper No. 2006/303 (2006) by Mark W Lewis, Jean-Claude Nachega, Said A Bakhache, Kadima D. Kalonji.