Farther on Down the Road : Transport Costs, Trade and Urban Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Transport costs are widely considered an important barrier to local economic activity but their impact in developing countries is not well-studied. This paper investigates the role of inter-city transport costs in determining the income of Sub-Saha...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/05/17714641/farther-down-road-transport-costs-trade-urban-growth-sub-saharan-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15586 |
| Summary: | Transport costs are widely considered an
important barrier to local economic activity but their
impact in developing countries is not well-studied. This
paper investigates the role of inter-city transport costs in
determining the income of Sub-Saharan African cities, using
two new data sources. Specifically, it asks how important
access to a large port city is for the income of hinterland
cities in 15 countries. Satellite data on lights at night
proxy for city economic activity, and shortest routes
between cities are calculated using new road network data.
Cost per unit of distance is identified by world oil prices.
The results show that an oil price increase of the magnitude
experienced between 2002 and 2008 induces the income of
cities near a major port to increase by 6 percent relative
to otherwise identical cities 500 kilometers farther away.
Cities connected to the port by paved roads are chiefly
affected by transport costs to the port, while cities
connected to the port by unpaved roads are more affected by
connections to secondary centers. These are important
findings for economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa
since the majority of its population growth over the next
few decades is expected to be in urban areas. |
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