Fragile States in African Economic Communities as Exemplified by the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) – Investment Issues

Abstract

The region of Central Africa is abundant in both fragile states and economic communities. According to the theory of international economic integration, in the long term such integration processes should stimulate not only short-term trade effects but also long-term investment effects. The article aims to answer the question whether and how membership of an economic community by a fragile state influences the occurrence of dynamic integration effects. The examination is based on the example of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). The article uses an analytical and descriptive method on the basis of domestic and foreign literature sources and UNCTAD and IMF statistics. The analysis suggests that from the point of view of member countries of African economic communities, the mere fact of membership of such a community is no vital driver of FDI within the internal market, particularly important to capital-poor fragile states.

Keywords

• Regional Economic Integration
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
• Fragile States/Dysfunctional States