Borders, Ethnicity and Trade
Jenny C. Aker, Michael W. Klein, Stephen A. O'Connell, Muzhe Yang
Do national borders and ethnicity contribute to market segmentation between and within countries? This paper uses unique and high-frequency data on narrowly-defined goods to gauge the extent to which a national border impedes trade between developing countries (Niger and Nigeria). Using a regression discontinuity approach, we find a significant price change at the national border, but one that is lower in magnitude than that found for industrialized countries. Yet unlike that literature, and in line with important characteristics of African economies, we investigate the role of ethnicity in mitigating and exacerbating the border effect. We find that a common ethnicity is linked to lower price dispersion across countries, yet ethnic diversity creates an internal border within Niger. The primary mechanism behind the internal border effect appears to be related to the role of ethnicity in facilitating access to credit in rural markets
Year of publication: |
May 2010
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Authors: | Aker, Jenny C. |
Other Persons: | Klein, Michael W. (contributor) ; Yang, Muzhe (contributor) ; O'Connell, Stephen A. (contributor) |
Institutions: | National Bureau of Economic Research (contributor) |
Publisher: |
Cambridge, Mass : National Bureau of Economic Research |
Subject: | Ethnische Gruppe | Ethnic group | Grenze | Political border | Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen | International economic relations | Handelshemmnisse | Trade barriers | Nigeria | Internationaler Güterverkehr | International freight transport | Niger |
Saved in:
freely available
Extent: | 1 Online-Ressource |
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Series: | NBER working paper series ; no. w15960 |
Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Notes: | Mode of access: World Wide Web System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files Hardcopy version available to institutional subscribers. |
Other identifiers: | 10.3386/w15960 [DOI] |
Source: | ECONIS - Online Catalogue of the ZBW |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012462692