Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa

Recent research suggests that poor economic integration and isolation from regional and international markets have contributed significantly to poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poor transport infrastructure and border restrictions are major deterrents to trade expansion which would stimulate economic...

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Main Authors: Buys, Piet, Deichmann, Uwe, Wheeler, David
Format: Journal Article
Language:EN
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5479
id okr-10986-5479
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-54792021-04-23T14:02:22Z Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa Buys, Piet Deichmann, Uwe Wheeler, David National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures Other Public Investment and Capital Stock H540 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses Transportation O180 Measurement of Economic Growth Aggregate Productivity Cross-Country Output Convergence O470 Transportation Systems: Government and Private Investment Analysis Road Maintenance, Transportation Planning R420 Recent research suggests that poor economic integration and isolation from regional and international markets have contributed significantly to poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poor transport infrastructure and border restrictions are major deterrents to trade expansion which would stimulate economic growth and poverty reduction. Using spatial network analysis techniques and gravity trade model estimations, this paper quantifies the economics of upgrading a primary road network that connects the major urban areas in the region. The results indicate that continental network upgrading is worth serious consideration from an economic perspective. Our simulations suggest that overland trade among Sub-Saharan African countries might expand by about $250 billion over 15 years, with major direct and indirect benefits for the rural poor. Financing the programme would require about $20 billion for initial upgrading and $1 billion annually for maintenance. 2012-03-30T07:33:02Z 2012-03-30T07:33:02Z 2010 Journal Article Journal of African Economies 09638024 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5479 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article Africa
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language EN
topic National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures
Other Public Investment and Capital Stock H540
Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320
Economic Development: Human Resources
Human Development
Income Distribution
Migration O150
Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses
Transportation O180
Measurement of Economic Growth
Aggregate Productivity
Cross-Country Output Convergence O470
Transportation Systems: Government and Private Investment Analysis
Road Maintenance, Transportation Planning R420
spellingShingle National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures
Other Public Investment and Capital Stock H540
Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320
Economic Development: Human Resources
Human Development
Income Distribution
Migration O150
Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses
Transportation O180
Measurement of Economic Growth
Aggregate Productivity
Cross-Country Output Convergence O470
Transportation Systems: Government and Private Investment Analysis
Road Maintenance, Transportation Planning R420
Buys, Piet
Deichmann, Uwe
Wheeler, David
Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa
geographic_facet Africa
relation http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
description Recent research suggests that poor economic integration and isolation from regional and international markets have contributed significantly to poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poor transport infrastructure and border restrictions are major deterrents to trade expansion which would stimulate economic growth and poverty reduction. Using spatial network analysis techniques and gravity trade model estimations, this paper quantifies the economics of upgrading a primary road network that connects the major urban areas in the region. The results indicate that continental network upgrading is worth serious consideration from an economic perspective. Our simulations suggest that overland trade among Sub-Saharan African countries might expand by about $250 billion over 15 years, with major direct and indirect benefits for the rural poor. Financing the programme would require about $20 billion for initial upgrading and $1 billion annually for maintenance.
format Journal Article
author Buys, Piet
Deichmann, Uwe
Wheeler, David
author_facet Buys, Piet
Deichmann, Uwe
Wheeler, David
author_sort Buys, Piet
title Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_short Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_fullStr Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full_unstemmed Road Network Upgrading and Overland Trade Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa
title_sort road network upgrading and overland trade expansion in sub-saharan africa
publishDate 2012
url http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5479
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