Spatial Inefficiencies in Africa's Trade Network

Tilman Graff

No 25951, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: I assess the efficiency of transport networks for every country in Africa. Using rich spatial data, I simulate trade flows over more than 70,000 links covering the entire continent. I maximise over the space of networks and find the optimal road system for every African state. My simulations predict that Africa would gain 1.1% of total welfare from better organising its national road systems. I then construct a novel dataset of local network inefficiency and I find that colonial infrastructure projects significantly skew trade networks towards a sub-optimal equilibrium. I also find evidence for regional favouritism and inefficient aid provision.

JEL-codes: F1 O18 R4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-cmp, nep-geo, nep-int and nep-tre
Note: DEV
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published as Tilman Graff, 2024. "Spatial inefficiencies in Africa’s trade network," Journal of Development Economics, .

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