The Cost of Being Landlocked : Logistics Costs and Supply Chain Reliability
A large proportion of the least developed countries are landlocked and their access to world markets depends on the availability of a trade corridor and transit systems. Based on empirical evidence from World Bank projects and assessments in Africa...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/06/7726752/cost-being-landlocked-logistics-costs-supply-chain-reliability http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7420 |
| Summary: | A large proportion of the least
developed countries are landlocked and their access to world
markets depends on the availability of a trade corridor and
transit systems. Based on empirical evidence from World Bank
projects and assessments in Africa, Central Asia, and
elsewhere, this paper proposes a microeconomic quantitative
description of logistics costs. The paper theoretically and
empirically highlights that landlocked economies are
primarily affected not only by a high cost of freight
services but also by the high degree of unpredictability in
transportation time. The main sources of costs are not only
physical constraints but widespread rent activities and
severe flaws in the implementation of the transit systems,
which prevent the emergence of reliable logistics services.
The business and donor community should push toward
implementation of comprehensive facilitation strategies,
primarily at the national level, and the design of robust
and resilient transport and transit regimes. A better
understanding of the political economy of transit and a
review of the implementation successes and failures in this
area are needed. |
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