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National Trade Policies and Smuggling in Africa: The Case of The Gambia and Senegal

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  • Golub, Stephen S.
  • Mbaye, Ahmadou Aly

Abstract

Summary Much of inter-regional trade in Africa is unrecorded and consists of smuggling. The Gambia is almost wholly enclosed within Senegal, yet official trade statistics show almost no trade between the two countries, failing to capture large-scale smuggling. Smuggling reflects pre-colonial traditional trading relationships, the artificial nature of borders created in the colonial era, and the disparities in trade policies between the two countries following independence, inducing large cross-border price differentials for goods. This paper documents the magnitude of trade protection in the two countries, the resulting price differences, and estimates the volume of smuggling.

Suggested Citation

  • Golub, Stephen S. & Mbaye, Ahmadou Aly, 2009. "National Trade Policies and Smuggling in Africa: The Case of The Gambia and Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 595-606, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:37:y:2009:i:3:p:595-606
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jagdish Bhagwati & Bent Hansen, 1973. "A Theoretical Analysis of Smuggling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(2), pages 172-187.
    2. Alan Deardorff & Wolfgang Stolper, 1990. "Effects of smuggling under african conditions: A factual, institutional and analytic discussion," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 126(1), pages 116-141, March.
    3. O'Connell, Stephen A, 1992. "Uniform Commercial Policy, Illegal Trade, and the Real Exchange Rate: A Theoretical Analysis," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 6(3), pages 459-479, September.
    4. Yongzheng Yang & Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, 2005. "Regional Trade Arrangements in Africa: Past Performance and the Way Forward," IMF Working Papers 2005/036, International Monetary Fund.
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    Cited by:

    1. Howson, Cynthia, 2013. "Adverse Incorporation and Microfinance among Cross-Border Traders in Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 199-208.
    2. Kubo, Koji, 2016. "Myanmar's cross-border trade with China : beyond informal trade," IDE Discussion Papers 625, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    3. Peyton Michael Ferrier, 2021. "Detecting origin fraud with trade data: the case of U.S. honey imports," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(1), pages 222-245, January.
    4. Cristina Mitaritonna & Sami Bensassi & Joachim Jarreau, 2017. "Regional Integration and Informal Trade in Africa: Evidence from Benin's Borders," Working Papers 2017-21, CEPII research center.
    5. repec:hal:cdiwps:hal-04391362 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Bensassi, Sami & Jarreau, Joachim, 2019. "Price discrimination in bribe payments: Evidence from informal cross-border trade in West Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 462-480.
    7. João Loureiro & Evaldo Baptista, 2021. "A single currency for the Economic Community of West Africa? An economic assessment," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 89(4), pages 608-634, December.
    8. Gardner, Leigh, 2015. "The curious incident of the franc in the Gambia: exchange rate instability and imperial monetary systems in the 1920s," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 291-314, December.
    9. Ahmadou Aly Mbaye & Nancy Benjamin & Stephen Golub & Jean-Jacques Ekomie, 2014. "The Urban Informal Sector in Francophone Africa: Large Versus Small Enterprises in Benin, Burkina Faso and Senegal," Working Papers 201405, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    10. Zamani, Omid & Pelikan, Janine & Schott, Johanna, "undated". "EU exports of livestock products to West Africa: An analysis of dairy and poultry trade data," Thünen Working Paper 309676, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (vTI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
    11. Ahmadou Aly Mbaye & Nancy Benjamin, 2012. "The Informal Sector in Francophone Africa : Firm Size, Productivity, and Institutions [Les entreprises informelles de l'Afrique de l'ouest francophone : Taille, productivité et institutions]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 9364, April.
    12. Stephen S. Golub & Janet Ceglowski & Ahmadou Aly Mbaye & Varun Prasad, 2018. "Can Africa compete with China in manufacturing? The role of relative unit labour costs," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 1508-1528, June.
    13. Sami Bensassi & Joachim Jarreau, 2019. "Price discrimination in bribe payments: Evidence from informal cross-border trade in West Africa," Post-Print hal-02390008, HAL.
    14. Resnick, Danielle & Diatta, Ampa Dogui, 2025. "Senegal at a crossroads: Prioritizing large-scale food fortification under financial uncertainty," IFPRI discussion papers 2363, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    15. Victor Chidubem Iwuoha, 2022. "Global Oil Crisis and Early COVID-19 Strategic Containment Responses in Africa: The Nigerian Experience," India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, , vol. 78(1), pages 47-67, March.
    16. Sami Bensassi & Joachim Jarreau & Cristina Mitaritonna, 2017. "Trade barriers and informality of trade: evidence from Benin's borders," Working Papers DT/2017/11, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    17. Ahmadou Aly Mbaye & Stephen Golub & Anastasia Vasilyeva, 2019. "Senegal’s International Competitiveness and Employment Creation for Women and Youth. The Product Space Analysis and Fieldwork Findings," Working Papers idrcdprusenegal, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.

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