Global value chains in sub-Saharan Africa: The role of business regulations, policies and institutions

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of business regulations, policies and institutions on global value chains (GVCs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It uses the latest release of the Eora MRIO IO database to compute the GVC indictors. The World Bank's doing business indicators are used as business regulatory measures and the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) indicators are also used as policies and institutional quality measures. The empirical evidence is based panel data analyses and panel quantile regressions as the estimation techniques. The findings show that business regulations, institutional and policy initiatives are critical factors in determining the level of GVC participation in Africa. The results also provide evidence that Africa countries could enhance their participation in the global value chain through improved business regulations, policies and institutions.