Corridors without Borders in West Africa
This paper estimates the welfare gains from upgrading several major regional corridors in West Africa. It uses a quantitative economic geography framework with trade within and across countries and mobility of people within countries to assess the...
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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/undefined/585581637328017410/Corridors-without-Borders-in-West-Africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36634 |
| Summary: | This paper estimates the welfare
gains from upgrading several major regional corridors in
West Africa. It uses a quantitative economic geography
framework with trade within and across countries and
mobility of people within countries to assess the economic
impacts of the reduction in trade costs from road and border
infrastructure investments. The findings show that the
upgrade of Dakar-Lagos regional road corridor brings sizable
economic benefits relative to investment costs, with a
benefit-cost ratio estimated around 3. The economic benefits
of road corridor upgrades are doubled and more widely spread
when combined with measures to reduce current massive border
delays. The benefits are negligible for Nigeria, but large
for small fragile states (Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra
Leone). The gains are highest for corridors connecting large
economies, and smaller and more fragile countries gain
proportionally more from accessing larger markets. Finally,
regional investments, including border time reduction
policies, will reduce spatial inequality in the whole region
but might increase inequality in some countries. |
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