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What Factors Drive transport and Logistics Costs in Africa ?

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  • Patrick Plane

    (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - UCA [2017-2020] - Université Clermont Auvergne [2017-2020] - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International)

Abstract

We analyze the domestic transport and logistics costs of importing a 20-foot container into Africa. We run regressions on a panel of 50 African countries for the period 2006-2014 using the RE-2SLS estimator. Distance from port of arrival to the point of delivery is an important explanatory factor of cost. Time-varying variables yield additional and valuable information. For the 2010-2014 sub-period, the simulations suggest that reducing processing times and adjusting real exchange rates to PPP equilibrium levels would save 12% of the cost to import for North Africa and 37% for Central Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick Plane, 2021. "What Factors Drive transport and Logistics Costs in Africa ?," Working Papers hal-03198081, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03198081
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://uca.hal.science/hal-03198081
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    2. Wim Naudé, 2023. "Late industrialisation and global value chains under platform capitalism," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 50(1), pages 91-119, March.

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    Keywords

    Cost of transport and logistics; Africa; Physical geography; Real exchange rate; Transaction costs; Rent seeking; Processing time;
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