Title: Towards a regional integration of professional services in Southern Africa
Abstract: Professional services are vital for development in Southern Africa. Accounting, legal and engineering services contribute directly and indirectly to economic growth, including by lowering transactions costs, being key inputs and creating spillovers of knowledge to other sectors. While professional services are among the fastest growing services sectors in Southern Africa, their weaknesses and underdevelopment are dwarfing their current contribution to growth in the region. Southern African countries have initiated regional integration in the context of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) but negotiations on the liberalization of services - professional services in particular - have made little progress. This policy note examines the current state of accounting, engineering, and legal services in Southern Africa. It analyzes the reasons for the underdevelopment of those services and for the limited trade in those services, particularly at a regional level. It also provides policy recommendations for enhancing growth and development of these professional services sectors in Southern Africa through deeper regional integration.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 6
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