The Impact of Mobility Restrictions on Trade Facilitation at Borders: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Central Asia
Kijin Kim,
Jerome Abesamis () and
Zemma Ardaniel ()
Additional contact information
Kijin Kim: Economic Research and Development Impact Department, Asian Development Bank, Metro Manila, Philippines
Jerome Abesamis: Economic Research and Development Impact Department, Asian Development Bank, Metro Manila, Philippines
Zemma Ardaniel: Economic Research and Development Impact Department, Asian Development Bank, Metro Manila, Philippines
Asian Development Review (ADR), 2025, vol. 42, issue 01, 333-360
Abstract:
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mobility restrictions had a significant impact on trade times and costs at the borders, particularly in landlocked developing countries. This paper examines the effect of COVID-19 mobility measures on the time required for cargo to clear the borders, using monthly bilateral time measures at the border crossing points (BCPs) of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation countries. An estimation of impulse response functions reveals that the time for inbound cargo to clear the border increased by up to 40% when the most stringent mobility restrictions were implemented. However, the results indicate that the time for outbound cargo was not significantly affected. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate the cross-border spillover effect of a trading partner’s mobility measures. Both inbound and outbound times at own-BCPs increased when a trading partner implemented tightened mobility restrictions. These findings emphasize the need for enhanced policy coordination and monitoring among trade partners during emergencies, providing valuable insights for border management strategies.
Keywords: Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program; COVID-19 pandemic; impulse response; spillover effects; trade facilitation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 F14 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0116110525400013
Open Access
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:adrxxx:v:42:y:2025:i:01:n:s0116110525400013
Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
DOI: 10.1142/S0116110525400013
Access Statistics for this article
Asian Development Review (ADR) is currently edited by Tetsushi Sonobe
More articles in Asian Development Review (ADR) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().