Regional integration continues to be a source of inspiration due to the economic benefits associated with a country belonging to a regional organisation. The African continent is no exception with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) taking note of such cooperation with exceeding attention. Its predecessor, the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC), was formed in 1980 and one of its most important goals was to economically integrate the Southern African region in order to improve the economic situation of its Member States. The transformation of the SADCC to the SADC in 1992 led to a much stronger SADC which was complimented further by the ratification of the SADC Protocol on Trade in 2000 and most importantly by the establishment of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) in 2001 through an Intergovernmental approach. The RISDP is seen as the most effective mechanism by the SADC to fully integrate the SADC effectively and is this study’s unit of analysis, as part of this study’s research strategy which is a case study methodology, under a qualitative research design which has been adopted for this study. However, this study notes that the RISDP is being poorly implemented by SADC Member States, as clearly stated in this study’s aim, and key examples include missing set milestones such as the formation of the SADC Customs Union in 2010. The focus on a customs union is essential as it will increase intraregional trade as this study believes that it will be the catalyst in truly economically integrating the SADC region. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Political Sciences / MA / Unrestricted

Dans le contexte de l’intégration internationale, les indicateurs économiques montrentd’importants changements de structure et de spécialisation du Maroc qui tend vers desproduits de manufactures intensifs en recherche et développement (r&d) et des secteursde moyenne haute intensité technologique. De plus, la croissance du commerce intraindustriedans les produits manufacturés témoigne du développement de l’industrieet d’un processus de rattrapage du Maroc. Pour ces raisons, l’objectif de cette thèse estd’examiner l’impact des accords de libre-échange (ale) sur la qualité de la spécialisationet l’intégration internationale du Maroc.L’impact des ale est analysé à partir du modèle de gravité dans deux études distinctes.Le premier modèle de gravité mesure l’évolution du potentiel des exportations du Marocentre 1998 et 2013 à partir d’un échantillon de 172 pays. Cette étude conclut à un impactpositif des accords sur les exportations marocaines. Parmi les partenaires commerciaux,l’Union européenne reste le principal partenaire avec un taux d’exportation de 98,83%par rapport aux exportations estimées. Les exportations dans le cadre des accordsbilatéraux avec les États-Unis, les Émirats arabes unis, la Turquie, l’Égypte et la Jordaniesont aux alentours de 91%. Cependant, il existe un potentiel d’échange inexploité avecles pays de l’Union du Maghreb arabe (uma).Dans la deuxième étude, le modèle de gravité est appliqué pour examiner le rôle del’ouverture commerciale sur les produits technologiques en utilisant des données depanel des exportations du Maroc vers 82 pays de 1967 à 2014. Les résultats confirmentun impact positif des ale sur les produits de moyenne haute technologie et de faibletechnologie et même pour les produits non manufacturés.Enfin, l’analyse de l’impact des ale au niveau des entreprises hétérogènes marocainesest réalisée dans la dernière étude. Les résultats du modèle de sélection de Heckman(1979) montrent que les entreprises créées après l’année 2000 et celles qui utilisent lesintrants importés, augmentent la probabilité d’exportation. Cependant, les contraintesnotamment douanières et fiscales réduisent l’intensité d’exportation des entreprises.Pour sa part, le modèle Tobit donne un résultat positif de l’effet de la technologie surl’intensité des exportations en utilisant la même base de données. / In the context of international integration, the trade indicators show the significantchanges in Morocco’s trade structure and specialization, which tend to intensive manufacturedproducts in r&d and medium high technological intensity. Moreover, thegrowth of intra-industry trade in manufactured products reflects the development ofthe industry and Morocco’s convergence. For this reasons, the aim of this thesis is toexamine the impact of free trade agreements (fta) on the quality of specialization andinternational integration of Morocco.The influence of the fta is analyzed by employing the gravity model in two separatestudies. In the first one, the model measures the potential of Morocco’s exports between1998 and 2013 from 172 countries. This study finds a positive impact of agreements onMoroccan exports. Among the trading partners, the European Union (eu) has remainedto be the Morocco’s main destination market with an export rate around 99% comparedto estimated exports. Meanwhile, the exports in framework of bilateral agreements withUnited States (us), United Arab Emirates (uae), Turkey, Egypt and Jordan are around91%. However, there is an untapped trade potential with Arab Maghreb Union (amu)countries.In the second study, the gravity model is applied to examine the role of trade openness ontechnological products by using a panel data of Morocco’s exports towards 82 countriesfrom 1967 to 2014. The results show a positive impact of fta on medium high technology,low technology and non-manufactured products.Finally, the analysis of fta’s impacts to Moroccan heterogeneous firms is conductedin the last research. The results of Heckman selection model (1979) show that thecompanies created after year 2000, which use the imported inputs, increase exportingprobability. However, customs and tax constraints reduce export intensity. Moreover,the Tobit model gives a positive effect of technology on export intensity by using thesame panel data.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil (LAS) (Land and Agrarian Studies) / Fish remains a vital source of food, income, nutrition and livelihoods for millions of people in Africa. This study investigated the modalities of trading in fish imported from sub-Saharan Africa into South Africa in the Cape Town Metropolitan area. The research analyses the opportunities and constraints faced by retail fish traders and importers regarding the South African and Southern African Development Community (SADC) policies that are in place, to ascertain how far the policies go in facilitating the intra-regional fish trade. In addition, the study analyses consumer factors underlying the attractiveness of imported fish, the channels used for importation as well as the types and forms of fish imported into South Africa. The study employs a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with purposively selected key informant retailers, traders and City of Cape Town officials to collect the information. Findings show that shop owners and traders face challenges in relation to obtaining the required documents for trading, sanitary and phytosanitary certification and tariff and non-tariff barriers at borders. Some of these challenges include long and tedious procedures to acquire documents, as well as the limitations placed on the amount of goods traders can import. Consumers (mostly from the diaspora) prefer the taste of fish that they are used to, thereby creating an increasing demand for imported fish. National and regional policies put in place do not facilitate the trade in fish as well as current municipal regulations for retailing imported fish and other food types. The study also raises critical questions about the implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary standards by officials in the food shops. The thesis concludes that is it critical for national and regional policies to be coordinated and harmonised for enhanced intra-regional fish trade, which could contribute towards increased food security, nutrition and livelihoods.