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Determinants of Globalization and Growth Prospects for Sub-Saharan African CountriesOver the decades leading to the global financial crisis, the world witnessed a deepening integration of world economies, irrespective of a country s geographical location on the spherical space. This process of increasing interdependence of world economies, most notably illustrated by the scale of financial flows and movements of goods and services now termed globalization, has been facilitated by research and development and advances in technology, especially in the area of information and communication technology. In spite of its global nature, its expected benefits have not been uniformly distributed, however. This paper shows that the countries and regions that are driving the process of knowledge creation and production of high-tech and manufactured goods, building on frontier technology, are benefiting the most from globalization, increasingly acting as drivers and relegating Sub-Saharan Africa to the end-user status. In this process, the income gap between Sub-Saharan Africa and the globalizers has increased even more. However, the paper also shows that raising the level of technological endowment in Sub-Saharan Africa to that of developed countries could go a long way to bridge Africa's output gaps and improve its export performance in the new globalization landscape of the post-financial crisis era.
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Middle East and North Africa Economic Developments and Prospects, 2008 : Regional Integration for Global CompetitivenessDuring 2007 the Middle East and North Africa Region
 (MENA) experienced average growth of 5.7
 percent. This was the fifth year in a row in which
 the region grew at a rate higher than 5 percent, exceeding
 levels reached in the 1990s and early 2000s.
 This performance occurred in the context of an external
 environment marked by three major developments:
 a continued rise in the price of hydrocarbons,
 turbulence in international financial markets
 following the sharp drop in market valuations of
 U.S. mortgage- backed securities, and a sharp rise in
 the price of non- oil commodities, especially foodstuffs.
 These developments have affected the various
 MENA economies in different ways. On average,
 however, the region has done well, with
 respectable growth and comfortable external and
 fiscal balances. Similar performance, that is, average
 growth of about 5.6 percent, is expected over the
 next three years. Oil prices are expected to remain
 buoyant, leading to high levels of investment and
 remittance flows within the region. Food prices are
 also expected to remain high. Because most countries
 in the region subsidize food and energy, high
 food prices will lead to fiscal pressures for many governments.
 But such pressures are not expected to
 choke off economic growth. Global financial turbulence
 and a likely slowdown of growth in the Organisation
 for Economic Co- operation and Development
 (OECD) countries are expected to be
 offset by continued robust spending among oilexporting
 countries and vibrant expansion in China
 and India.
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South Africa Economic Update : Focus on Export CompetitivenessIn its National Development Plan 2030
 and its New Growth Path (2011), South Africa identifies the
 export sector as an engine for faster, more inclusive, and
 job-intensive growth. The National Development Plan is
 targeting export volume growth of 6 percent a year, to
 achieve an annual increase in real Gross Domestic Product,
 or GDP growth of about 5.5 percent and to help generate 11
 million new jobs by 2030. Despite successes in some
 subsectors, South Africa will need to greatly improve its
 export performance to meet these targets. The report
 highlights opportunities for growth, particularly with
 Sub-Saharan Africa being the largest market for non-mineral
 exports. It also explores strategic directions that can
 ignite export growth and help South Africa realize its goals
 of creating jobs and reducing poverty and inequality.