|
Títol:
|
The Integration of West Africa in the Global Economy, 1842-1938
|
|
Autor/a:
|
Aslanidis, Nektarios; Martínez Ibáñez, Oscar; Tadei, Federico
|
|
Altres autors:
|
Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Departament d'Economia |
|
Abstract:
|
Despite the essential role that international trade has historically played for resource-rich African
economies, growth possibilities have been hindered by considerable trade barriers. Yet, in the large
literature on commodity market integration, Africa is a blank spot and little is known about the
origins of high trade costs in the African export markets. In this article, we contribute to fill this gap
by analyzing West African trade costs from the mid-nineteenth century to the eve of World War II.
We construct estimates of international trade costs by applying a flexible threshold model to a
representative sample of West African export prices and European import prices. Our results show
that trade costs for West Africa experienced a substantial reduction from the 1840s to 1880, similar
to the one we observe in other areas of the world. After the 1880s, however, they declined in the
rest of the world, but not in West Africa. Consequently, since the late nineteenthcentury, trade for
West Africa became relatively more expensive than for other world regions and Africa became
relatively less integrated into the global economy. Our findings shed new light on the debate about
the origins of African underdevelopment by emphasizing the role of increased trade costs and
limited access to global markets.
Keywords: Market Integration; West Africa; Commodity Trade; Trade Costs; Threshold
Autoregressions.
JEL classification: F1; N7; O43 |
|
Data de publicació:
|
2020 |
|
Matèries (CDU):
|
338 - Situació econòmica. Política econòmica. Gestió, control i planificació de l'economia. Producció. Serveis. Turisme. Preus |
|
Matèries:
|
Àfrica de l'Oest--Condicions econòmiques--S. XIX-XX
Integració econòmica |
|
Drets:
|
L'accés als continguts d'aquest document queda condicionat a l'acceptació de les condicions d'ús establertes per la següent llicència Creative Commons:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
|
Pàgines:
|
34 p. |
|
Tipus de document:
|
Document de treball |
|
Publicat per:
|
ECO-SOS, Centre de Recerca en Economia i Sostenibilitat
|
|
Col·lecció:
|
Documents de treball del Departament d'Economia;2020-03 (ECO-SOS)
|
|
Compartir:
|
|
