Trade Integration in West Africa: Does the Quality of Institutions Matter?

DOI

10.2991/jat.k.211201.001How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Institutions; trade; gravity model; panel data

Abstract

When asked why the level of intra-regional trade in West Africa is low despite regional integration efforts, the literature highlights the poorly diversified structure of economies, the non-application of community arrangements, the inconsistency or mismanagement of trade policies, supply constraints, and inadequate transport infrastructure. Without calling into question the relevance of these factors, this paper investigates the contribution of institutional variables to the explanation of trade flows in West Africa over the period from 1996 to 2018. Using a gravity model, the study shows that institutional quality matters. The quality of institutions in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries influences bilateral trade. Political stability is an essential component of the quality of the institutions that determine trade in the ECOWAS zone. These results suggest that more than trade liberalization is needed to deepen trade integration and that institutional reforms and harmonization in West Africa are required.

Copyright

© 2021 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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TY  - JOUR
AU  - Vigninou Gammadigbe
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/12/10
TI  - Trade Integration in West Africa: Does the Quality of Institutions Matter?
JO  - Journal of African Trade
SP  - 65
EP  - 81
VL  - 8
IS  - 1
SN  - 2214-8523
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/jat.k.211201.001
DO  - 10.2991/jat.k.211201.001
ID  - Gammadigbe2021
ER  -