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Market access, supplier access, and Africa's manufactured exports: A firm level analysis

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  • Ibrahim Elbadawi
  • Taye Mengistae
  • Albert Zeufack

Abstract

In a large cross-country sample of manufacturing establishments drawn from 188 cities, average exports per establishments are smaller for African firms than for businesses in other regions. Based on the estimation of firm level exporting equations, we show that this is mainly because, on average, African firms face more adverse economic geography and operate in poorer institutional settings. One part of the effect of geography operates through Africa's lower 'foreign market access': African firms are located further away from wealthier or denser potential export markets. A second occurs through the region's lower 'supplier access': African firms face steeper input prices, partly because of their physical distance from cheaper foreign suppliers, and partly because domestic substitutes for importable inputs are more expensive. Africa's poorer institutions reduce its manufactured exports directly, as well as indirectly, by lowering foreign market access and supplier access. Both geography and institutions influence average firm level exports significantly more through their effect on the number of exporters than through their impact on how much each exporter sells onto foreign markets.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by Taylor and Francis Journals in its journal The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development.

Volume (Year): 15 (2006)
Issue (Month): 4 ()
Pages: 493-523

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Handle: RePEc:taf:jitecd:v:15:y:2006:i:4:p:493-523

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Related research

Keywords: Economic geography; institutions; international trade; economic development; manufacturing; Africa;

References

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  1. A. Wood & K. Jordan, 2000. "Why Does Zimbabwe Export Manufactures and Uganda Not? Econometrics Meets History," The Journal of Development Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 91-116.
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Cited by:
  1. Calderon, Cesar & Serven, Luis, 2008. "Infrastructure and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4712, The World Bank.
  2. Thomas Gries & Wim Naudé & Marianne Matthee, 2009. "The Optimal Distance To Port For Exporting Firms," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 513-528.

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