9. Assessing Regional Integration in Africa (ARIA): Indicators of Integration Effort in Africa

The author presents the indicators developed in the context of the “Assessing Regional Integration in Africa” (ARIA) project, conducted by the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). ARIA’s goal, and therefore the indicators’ objective, is to assess the progress of regional integration overtime across the continent, countries, and Regional Economic Communities (REC)s. The indicators are grouped in eight clusters: human development and labour market integration, trade and market integration, monetary, fiscal and financial integration, energy, food security, transport and communications infrastructure, industrial production and consumption, and regional commons. Then, a weighted composite integration index is calculated that measures relative performance of the RECs within the continent. The author finds that the progress of regional integration in Africa is differentiated between RECs and sectors. On the one hand, success in the RECs is observed in the member states that have implemented effective integration programs. On the other hand, the sectors of trade and communications have had most advances.