Innovation, Regional Integration, and Development in Africa: Rethinking

This edited volume discusses the role of innovation and regional integration in economic development in Africa. Over the past five decades, post-colonial African countries have struggled to break loose from the trap of poverty and underdevelopment through the adoption of various development strategies at regional, national, and continental levels. However, the results of both national and regional efforts at advancing development on the continent have been mixed. Although the importance of agglomeration and fusion of institutions have long been recognized as possible path to achieving economic development in Africa, the approach to regionalism has been unduly focused on market integration, while neglecting other dimensions such as social policy, mobility of labor, educational policy, biotechnology, regional legislation, manufacturing, innovation, and science and technology. This volume investigates the link between innovation, regional integration, and development in Africa, arguing that the immediate and long term development of Africa lies not just in the structural transformation of its economies but in the advancement of scientific and innovation capacities.

The book is divided into four parts. Part I addresses the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of innovation and regional integration in Africa. Part II presents case studies which examine how regional economic institutions are fostering innovation in Africa. Part III of the book deals with sectoral issues on innovation and integrated development in Africa. Part IV sets the future research on innovation, regional integration, and development in Africa. Combining theoretical analysis and a comparative, interdisciplinary approach, this volume is appropriate for researchers and students interested in economic development, political economy, African studies, international relations, agricultural science, and geography, as well as policymakers in regional economic communities and the African Union.

 Samel Olotuntoba recieved his PhD Degree in Political Science with specialisation in International Political Economy from University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has a Masters Degree (Cum Laude) in Political Science from the same University and a Bachelows (Honours) Degree in Political Science from University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Dr. Oloruntoba was also a  Visiting Scholar at Brown and Northwestern Universities in the United States of America. Before his appointment as a Senior Lecturer 2014, he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute at University of South Africa.

Chapter 1:Innovation and Regional Integration: Reframing the Debates on Innovation and Integrated African Development.- Chapter 2: Towards a Unified Theory of Pan-African Innovation Systems and Integrated Development.- Chapter 3: Exploring Theory and Praxis for Socioeconomic Development.- Chapter 4:  Innovating the Political Economy of Pan Africanism: Imagination and Renaissance.- Chapter 5:  Innovating Policy Systems of Innovation for Regional Integration.- Chapter 6:  Transnational Simultaneity: an Emergent African Perspective of Regional Integration.- Chapter 7:  Knowledge Valorisation for Inclusive Innovation and Integrated African Development.- Chapter 8: Regional Integration Prospects, Challenges and Opportunities in Africa: A Case of Tripartite Free Trade Area.- Chapter 9: The Regionalism-Innovation Nexus: The ECOWAS Experience.- Chapter 10: Institutional Capacity and Regional Integration: Reflections on the Composition and Powers of the ECOWAS Parliament.- Chapter 11:  Innovation and Development in West Africa.- Chapter 12: The Role of Cloud-Based Surveillance Systems in Regional Integration in ECOWAS.- Chapter 13: Higher Education, R&D, and Challenges in National Innovation System Building of Angola.- Chapter 14:  Regional Integration and Knowledge Flows: Effects on Manufacturing Productivity in southern Africa.- Chapter 15:  Regionalism and Failure of the African Manufacturing Sector: Technology Transfer Policies as a Missing Link.- Chapter 16:  Intra-African Trade and Innovation in the Agricultural Sector.- Chapter 17: Unemployment and Informal Entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe.- Chapter 18:  Analysis of Agricultural Innovation and Decision Making among Maize Farming Household in Nigeria: A Gender Approach.- Chapter 19:  Social Innovations as a Response to Municipal Failures in Africa.- Chapter 20:  Science and Technological Capability Building in Global South: Comparative Study of India and South Africa.- Chapter 21:  Conclusion: Setting Research Agenda for Innovation and Integrated African Development.