Structured Solidarity and Sustainable Integration: Fiscal Equalisation, Regional Development Policy, and the Political Economy of AfCFTA

Drawing on comparative fiscal federalism and supranational integration experience, the paper demonstrates that durable integration regimes combine competition with rule-based redistribution and structured development programming. Empirical evidence on intra-African trade trends underscores persistent structural asymmetries under AfCFTA. Building on these insights, the paper proposes the creation of an African Equalisation Facility (AEF) structured around a stabilisation window and a transformation window. The paper contributes by linking comparative equalisation systems to the institutional design of AfCFTA and proposing an operational framework for managing integration-induced asymmetries in Africa.