ABOUT TFED

The Trade, Finance & Economic Development Division (TFED) focuses on issues relating to macroeconomic analysis, including monitoring of macroeconomic trends and macro-micro linkages. It also deals with international trade, international trade negotiations development, finance and financial sector policies, debt, aid, investment, and industrial policies. The Division consists of four sections and a center, i.e. the Industry and Sectoral Policies Section (ISPS), the Financing Development Section (FDS), the Trade and International Negotiations Section (TINS), the Macroeconomic Analysis Section (MAS), and the African Trade Policy Center (ATPC). The Division is lead by Mr. Hakim Ben Hammouda, Director TFED.

The Financing Development Section (FDS) is charged with the task of understanding and analyzing the challenges and prospects of development finance to achieve sustained growth and poverty reduction in Africa through rigorous policy-oriented research. It provides support to member states, African institutions, academics, the private sector and civil society. It also engages in policy advocacy work in the area of development finance. The section focuses mainly on key elements of development finance such as Foreign Aid, Debt, Private Capital Flows, Savings, and Remittances. The section implements the above objectives through publications, training, seminars and workshops. It also contributes to ECA's flagship publication, the Economic Report for Africa, on a wide range of issues related with development finance. Recent and ongoing research activities include: Financing Development in Africa: Trends, Issues and Challenges ; Financing Economic Growth to Reduce Poverty by Half in 2015 in Africa ; Current Account Sustainability in Africa ; Profile and Determinants of Aid in Africa ; and capital market development in Africa.

The objective of the Industry and Sectoral Policies Section (ISPS) is to assist African countries in enhancing their capacities to meet the challenges of competition in a global production system. This is done by supporting countries in the design and implementation of effective industrial policies, strategies and programmes. In general, the section takes the lead in undertaking policy research and outreach on strategic industrial development options and reform strategies to achieve higher economic growth and diversification; in strengthening the capacity of African countries in formulating and implementing industrial development strategies and reforms; and in improving access of local policy analysts and researchers to analytical tools and information on industrial development experiences. Accordingly, ISPS is developing partnerships with other organizations engaged in activities aimed at providing a forum for dialogue for all stakeholders of industrial and sectoral policy development. This is done with the objective of speeding up the process of viable industrialization in Africa. The section is also engaged in the development of quantitative tools to analyze productivity performance in the manufacturing sector as well as its relations with the rest of the economy. In addition, these quantitative tools provide a solid framework of the sectoral competitiveness of the industrial sector in Africa. The section also contributes to ECA's flagship publication, the Economic Report on Africa through input on issues related to sectoral performance.

The objective of the Macroeconomic Analysis Section (MAS) is to assist member states to improve their capacity to design, implement and monitor sound macroeconomic policies and better institutional frameworks, in order to achieve sustainable development, consistent with the priorities of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The work of the section also includes policy advocacy and collaboration with non-governmental development organizations and institutions including other UN agencies, universities and research centers and networks. The section implements its tasks through publications, training, conferences and workshops. It undertakes macroeconomic research and policy analysis, at the regional, sub-regional and country levels, in such areas as macroeconomic modeling and planning, growth strategies, fiscal and monetary policies and debt management. The section also provides inputs to ECA's main flagship publication, the Economic Report on Africa, covering trends in African economies, developments in the global economy and dealing with economic globalization. Other regular tasks include preparation of background documents for the Commission's annual Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, and ECA's input to the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP), a UN publication coordinated by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

The Trade and International Negotiations Section (TINS) undertakes analysis in order to make recommendations aimed at helping Africa benefit from globalization through trade. The section focuses on two broad threads of analytical work both aimed at identifying ways that Africa's development prospects through trade could be improved. Firstly, the section conducts research and outreach activities aimed at ensuring best practice in trade policy development and integration in countries' development strategies. Secondly, the section undertakes research and dissemination activities on international and bilateral trade negotiations with a view to identifying how Africa could improve its development prospects via the international trading system. At the same time, the section analyzes how global trade reforms are likely to influence Africa's economic growth and development. Currently there is a focus in the section's research orientation on analyzing how global trade reforms are likely to affect Africa's economic growth and development prospects. This includes, analysis of the Doha Round negotiations positions on African economies, especially in the development of agriculture and NAMA modalities; the Economic Partnership Agreements negotiations and their adjustment challenges; and optimization of benefits from trade reforms through the Aid-for-Trade initiative. Besides research on trade issues and organizing meetings for advocacy purposes, the section undertakes technical missions for advisory services to African countries. It also contributes to the ECA's flagship publications such as the Economic Report on Africa and Assessing Regional Integration on Africa.