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Cross-Border Trade, Insecurity and the Role of Customs: Some Lessons from Six Field Studies in (Post-) Conflict Regions

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  • Cantens, Thomas
  • Raballand, Gaël

Abstract

Africa, and especially the Sahel, has experienced frequent recurrences of armed conflicts and terrorist acts in the last decade. This paper is based on six field studies, in Chad, Mali, Sudan, Tunisia, Libya and the Central African Republic. It reflects on the governance of trade in border regions during a (post-)conflict situation, exploring the practices and strategies of customs officials operating at insecure borders. It demonstrates the unintended consequences of security policies – especially on trade, and consequently on revenue generation. It further shows how customs administrations de facto leave it to customs officers on the ground and importers to agree on an acceptable tax burden to prevent smuggling and a new upsurge in violence to a certain extent. Idiosyncratic and pragmatic approaches by customs seem to play a major role at the local level.

Suggested Citation

  • Cantens, Thomas & Raballand, Gaël, 2017. "Cross-Border Trade, Insecurity and the Role of Customs: Some Lessons from Six Field Studies in (Post-) Conflict Regions," Working Papers 13379, Institute of Development Studies, International Centre for Tax and Development.
    • Handle: RePEc:idq:ictduk:13379
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    File URL: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/13379
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    Cited by:

    1. Marius Brulhart & Olivier cadot & Alexander Himbert, 2019. "Let There Be Light: Trade and the Development of Border Regions," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 19.02, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    2. Walther, Olivier J. & Dambo, Lawali & Koné, Moustapha & van Eupen, Michiel, 2020. "Mapping travel time to assess accessibility in West Africa: The role of borders, checkpoints and road conditions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Jade Siu, 2020. "Formalising informal cross-border trade: Evidence from One-Stop-Border-Posts in Uganda," Discussion Papers 20-08, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.

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    Taxation;

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