Inspired by the recent drastic shift in international trade from traditional to global value chains, this study analyzed the effects of economic freedom and ease of doing business on participation and position of sub-Saharan Africa in global value chains. Panel data from 41 sub-Saharan African countries from 2000 to 2018 were used. The study utilized a tobit estimator along with a fixed effects estimator. The findings show that economic freedom—namely, better regulation and sound money—positively influence the countries' participation in global value chains. Moreover, improving ease of doing business, such as by decreasing customs duties and simplifying procedures to register new businesses, enhances the countries' level of participation and their efforts to move upstream along the global value chains. The results are robust to different specifications. Therefore, sub-Saharan African countries should promote economic freedom and ease of doing business to participate in and reap benefits offered by the current wave of globalization. Specifically, sub-Saharan African countries should further reduce the number of procedures required to register new businesses, decrease tariffs and non-tariffs barriers to trade in global value chains to enhance their participation and position along global value chains.

中文翻译：

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经济自由和营商便利度对全球价值链贸易的影响：来自撒哈拉以南非洲的证据

受近期国际贸易从传统价值链向全球价值链急剧转变的启发，本研究分析了经济自由和营商便利性对撒哈拉以南非洲在全球价值链中的参与和地位的影响。使用了 2000 年至 2018 年 41 个撒哈拉以南非洲国家的面板数据。该研究使用了 tobit 估计器和固定效应估计器。研究结果表明，经济自由——即更好的监管和稳健的货币——对各国参与全球价值链产生积极影响。此外，通过降低关税和简化新企业注册程序等提高营商便利度，可以提高各国的参与水平及其向全球价值链上游发展的努力。结果对于不同的规格都是稳健的。因此，撒哈拉以南非洲国家应促进经济自由和营商便利，参与当前全球化浪潮并从中获益。具体而言，撒哈拉以南非洲国家应进一步减少新企业注册手续，减少全球价值链中的关税和非关税贸易壁垒，提高其在全球价值链中的参与度和地位。