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Markups, Market Imperfections, and Trade Openness: Evidence from Ghana

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  • Kaku Attah Damoah

Abstract

This article investigates the impact of Ghana’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession on firm-level product and labor market imperfections. The article exploits a rich dataset of firm-level information to estimate markups and the degree of monopsony power enjoyed by manufacturing firms. The results indicate that price-cost margins declined while the degree of monopsony power increased in the wake of WTO accession. These diverging dynamics suggest that firms compress real wages to offset loss of market power in the product market due to increased international competition. This gives rise to an increase in the market imperfection gap, which gradually erodes the pro-competitive gains from trade. The article contributes to the literature by identifying channels through which allocative inefficiencies and misallocation can persist even after trade liberalization.

Suggested Citation

  • Kaku Attah Damoah, 2021. "Markups, Market Imperfections, and Trade Openness: Evidence from Ghana," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(1), pages 92-116.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:35:y:2021:i:1:p:92-116.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wber/lhz025
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    markups; market imperfections; trade openness; Africa; Ghana;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O24 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Trade Policy; Factor Movement; Foreign Exchange Policy

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