Firm Productivity and Locational Choice : Evidence from Mozambique
Transport infrastructure is an important driving force for economic growth. Africa has been lagging behind in the global manufacturing market. Among others, infrastructure is often an important constraint. The paper reexamines the impacts of transp...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/162481625228973275/Firm-Productivity-and-Locational-Choice-Evidence-from-Mozambique http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35914 |
| Summary: | Transport infrastructure is an important
driving force for economic growth. Africa has been lagging
behind in the global manufacturing market. Among others,
infrastructure is often an important constraint. The paper
reexamines the impacts of transport infrastructure on firm
productivity in Mozambique. A conventional cost function is
estimated with two rounds of firm data collected in 2007 and
2018. It is found that improved transport connectivity,
particularly access to a port, has a positive impact on firm
production. Firm inventory is also an important determinant
of firm productivity. Over the long term, agglomeration
economies are also found to be significant and associated
with port accessibility. These findings are consistent with
the fact that the Government of Mozambique heavily invested
in the primary road network during the first half of the
2010s. The improved transport network is considered to have
contributed to the country’s robust economic growth in the
industrial and service sectors until the mid-2010s. |
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