Development at the border: policies and national integration in Côte d’Ivoire and its neighbors

Denis Cogneau (denis.cogneau@psemail.eu), Sandrine Mesplé-Somps and Gilles Spielvogel

No 1305, CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) from CEPREMAP

Abstract: By applying regression discontinuity designs to a set of household surveys from the 1980–90s, we examine whether Côte d’Ivoire’s aggregate wealth was translated at the borders of neighboring countries. At the border of Ghana and at the end of the 1980s, large discontinuities are detected for consumption, child stunting, and access to electricity and safe water. Border discontinuities in consumption can be explained by differences in cash crop policies (cocoa and coffee). When these policies converged in the 1990s, the only differences that persisted were those in rural facilities. In the North, cash crop (cotton) income again made a difference for consumption and nutrition (the case of Mali). On the one hand, large differences in welfare can hold at the borders dividing African countries despite their assumed porosity. On the other hand, border discontinuities seem to reflect the impact of reversible public policies rather than intangible institutional traits.

Keywords: national integration; Africa; borders; economic geography; welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O12 P52 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 62 pages
Date: 2013-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-dev and nep-geo
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Development at the Border: Policies and National Integration in Côte D'Ivoire and Its Neighbors (2015)
Working Paper: Development at the Border: Policies and National Integration in Côte D'Ivoire and Its Neighbors (2015)
Working Paper: Development at the Border: Policies and National Integration in Côte D'Ivoire and Its Neighbors (2015)
Working Paper: Development at the border: policies and national integration in Cote d'Ivoire and its neighbors (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpm:docweb:1305

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