Journal of African Trade

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Volume 6, Issue 1-2, December 2019, Pages 1 - 15

The Effects of Trade Facilitation on Trade Performance in Africa

Authors
Daniel Sakyi1, *, Sylvanus Kwaku Afesorgbor2, †
1Department of Economics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
2Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Guelph, ON, Canada
†

Additional information: Executive Founder, Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CETAD Ghana). Email: safesorg@uoguelph.ca

*Corresponding author. Email: dsakyi.cass@knust.edu.gh
Corresponding Author
Daniel Sakyi
Received 19 June 2019, Accepted 20 November 2019, Available Online 17 December 2019.
DOI
10.2991/jat.k.191129.001How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Africa; gravity model; trade facilitation; trade flows
Abstract

Institutional trade barriers constitute substantial constraints for a number of exporters and importers. These barriers are multidimensional and they impede trade flows and trade performance of many developing countries, including African countries. In particular, the International Trade Centre through its series of business surveys has identified that a myriad number of businesses within Africa are affected by these barriers. Notwithstanding, there is little empirical knowledge on how they interact and affect trade flows within Africa. In this paper, we assess the effects of trade facilitation measures and their combined effect (using principal component analysis) on trade performance in a sample of 52 African countries within a structural gravity model framework for the period 2006–2015. The results suggest that trade facilitation improves trade performance in Africa; the better the level of trade facilitation, the larger the extent of trade flows. From a policy perspective, reducing trade costs across borders remains key to improve trade performance in Africa.

Copyright
© 2019 African Export-Import Bank. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Next Article In Issue>
Journal
Journal of African Trade
Volume-Issue
6 - 1-2
Pages
1 - 15
Publication Date
2019/12/17
ISSN (Online)
2214-8523
ISSN (Print)
2214-8515
DOI
10.2991/jat.k.191129.001How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2019 African Export-Import Bank. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Daniel Sakyi
AU  - Sylvanus Kwaku Afesorgbor
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/12/17
TI  - The Effects of Trade Facilitation on Trade Performance in Africa
JO  - Journal of African Trade
SP  - 1
EP  - 15
VL  - 6
IS  - 1-2
SN  - 2214-8523
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/jat.k.191129.001
DO  - 10.2991/jat.k.191129.001
ID  - Sakyi2019
ER  -