Replication data for: High Trade Costs and Their Consequences: An Estimated Dynamic Model of African Agricultural Storage and Trade

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Obie Porteous

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Project Citation:

Porteous, Obie. Replication data for: High Trade Costs and Their Consequences: An Estimated Dynamic Model of African Agricultural Storage and Trade. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2019. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-12-07. https://doi.org/10.3886/E116359V1

Project Description

Summary: Using a new intranational dataset of monthly grain prices and production and a new approach to identify cost parameters, I estimate and solve a dynamic model of agricultural storage and trade covering all 42 countries of continental sub-Saharan Africa. I find median trade costs over five times higher than elsewhere in the world. The potential welfare gains from reducing these costs are substantial, are driven by lower food prices, and can be achieved efficiently by investing in well-targeted trade corridors. A static annual model underestimates trade costs and welfare effects by failing to identify when trade occurs.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Prices; Trade Costs

JEL Classification:
      F14 Empirical Studies of Trade
      O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
      O19 International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
      Q11 Agriculture: Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
      Q13 Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness
      Q17 Agriculture in International Trade

Geographic Coverage: Africa

Time Period(s): 5/2003 – 4/2013

Universe: 230 regional hub markets in all 42 countries of continental sub-Saharan Africa

Data Type(s): geographic information system (GIS) data; observational data; program source code

Collection Notes: Please see enclosed ReadMe file for details.

Methodology

Data Source: Various national ministries and international organizations (please refer to paper, paper's online appendix, and enclosed ReadMe file for details).

Unit(s) of Observation: Markets, Month,

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Published Versions

V1 [2019-12-07]

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DDI 2.5

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