Does intra-Africa regional trade cooperation enhance Africa's export survival?

Arbeitspapier

In this paper, I use a stratified Cox Proportional Hazard Model to econometrically evaluate the effects of intra-Africa regional trade cooperation and other underlying factors on Africa`s export survival. Using a highly disaggregated dataset of bilateral trade flows at HS 6 digit level for 49 African countries for the period 1995 to 2009, I obtain 3 key main empirical results. First, intra-Africa regional trade cooperation do increase the likelihood of Africa`s export survival. The results show that the depth of regional integration matters on lowering Africa`s export hazard rates relative to countries that are not in any regional cooperation. Second, I find evidence that supports the 'learning by export hypothesis'. That is export experience within regional as well as rest of the world markets increases the likelihood of Africa`s export survival. Finally, results suggests that infrastructure related trade frictions such as costs to export, time to export, and customs procedures to export as well as weak export supporting institutions have a negative effect on Africa`s export survival. Similarly macroeconomic developments particularly exchange rate volatility, financial underdevelopment, 'inappropriate' foreign direct investment hurt chances of an African export survival. The results also show that interaction effects between regional integration initiatives and a variety of these trade frictions namely: costs to export, time to export and customs procedures effects on hazard rates diminish in significance with the depth of regional integration over time.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Working Paper ; No. 16/2012

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Empirical Studies of Trade ; Economic Integration ; Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General ; Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
• Subject: regional integration ; export survival ; trade relationships ; Handelsregionalismus ; Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen ; Handelseffekt ; Afrika

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Kamuganga, Dick N.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
• (where): Geneva
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/77403
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET