Maryla Maliszewska

This volume expands on the analysis presented in the 2020 World Bank book The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Economic and Distributional Effects. This new volume examines the potential dynamic gains from trade, factoring in the foreign direct investment (FDI) that is expected to follow greater trade openness.

This report examines the impacts of trade integration on the quantity and quality of jobs in developing countries and the underlying channels through which workers adjust. It also offers data, analytics, and a clear framework to help policymakers maximize the aggregate labor market gains from trade while minimizing adjustment costs for workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique event demonstrating the risks associated with global value chains as well as ways in which they are a source of resilience in trade. Efforts to reshore production would make all countries worse off and increase the number of people in extreme poverty.

To enable global trade to deliver for the poor, this report makes contributions to improve the ability of trade to deliver for the poor.