ECON 4494W — Assignment 4

Abstract picture

Our next speaker will be Jorge Agüero.

Many people have studied the effect of Chinese manufacturing imports in developed economies such as the United States and Western Europe. However, less is known about the impact on developing economies, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, even though the magnitude of China-Africa bilateral trade has increased by almost 10 times since the early 2000s. Unlike what happened in advanced economies, Chinese imports to Africa are taking place when the region has yet to experience a structural transformation away from agriculture and has only the beginnings of a manufacturing sector.

Your assignment is to learn and think about how Chinese trade is affecting Africa.  What have been the effects of Chinese trade with the U. S.?  In what ways should we expect trade with Africa to be different?  What are the implications?  As always, you should pick an angle and make (and defend) an argument.

Here are some references to get you started, but you should also do a little (not too much) research on your own.

Dani Rodrik, "Premature Deindustrialization," Journal of Economic Growth 21: 1–33 (2016).

L. Alan Winters, "Trade Liberalisation and Economic Performance: An Overview," The Economic Journal 114: F4-F21 (2004).

Due: March 31