One of the major development challenges facing Africa has been the small and fragmented economies with low incomes and low levels of intra-regional exports. In an effort to promote intra-regional exports, Africa has witnessed renewed momentum for regional integration. This study examines the effect of regional economic integration on exports in the COMESA region.

Methodology:

It employs fixed effects regression, random effects regression, and instrumental variables GMM regression to estimate an augmented trade gravity model using panel data from 1980 to 2012.

Key findings:

The study results show that the formation of the COMESA trading bloc has promoted intra-regional exports, implying an intra-COMESA export bias. Comparing the pre-COMESA (1980–1993) and post-COMESA (1994–2012) periods, it was found that intra-COMESA exports have grown by approximately 35% since COMESA was formed.

Policy implications:

This suggests that, in order to enhance export flows in the region, the process of economic integration should be deepened. Thus, there is a need for increased investment in transport infrastructure that will reduce the long-distance cost of doing business. This would have a major impact on deepening the integration of COMESA economies.