HINH D. TINH, AN ECONOMIST AT THE WORLD BANK, WRITES:
Washington D.C. (CNN) — With domestic labor costs rising, many Asian manufacturing producers are now looking to relocate their factories in other regions of the world. Could Africa replace Asia and/or China as the world’s next manufacturing hub?
To be sure, Africa has a number of manufacturing advantages that it has yet to realize. Besides low labor costs and abundant resources, these include duty-free and quota-free access to U.S. and EU markets for light manufactures under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and the Cotonou Agreement.
Is this enough to offset Sub-Saharan Africa’s generally low labor productivity relative to that of its Asian competitors? READ MORE.