Trade In West Africa Research Articles

Impact of Ebola Virus Disease and ECOWAS Membership on Intra-Regional Trade in West Africa

The West African sub-region bore the brunt of the world's largest Ebola outbreak, significantly impacting the economic activities and trade shares of the affected countries. This study seeks to examine the repercussions of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) on the trade shares of affected countries and to explore the potential influence of ECOWAS membership on intra-regional trade in West Africa. Using the Poison Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimation technique, an analysis of the augmented gravity model of international trade was conducted. The findings indicate a two-fold reduction in the trade shares of affected countries with their intra-regional partners due to the Ebola Virus Disease. Additionally, with Mauritania expressing its desire to join the ECOWAS sub-region, there is a need to explore the impact of the Regional Economic Community on intra-regional trade. Furthermore, the study reveals that ECOWAS membership has the potential to double trade levels in West Africa. The findings also suggest that Mauritania stands to gain significant benefits from becoming a member of the ECOWAS. In conclusion, this study highlights the necessity for ECOWAS to proactively respond to disease outbreaks and underscores the importance of increased research investment. Moreover, it emphasizes the need for the ECOWAS to further improve infrastructure to facilitate intra-regional trade, especially in transportation.

Trade costs and the integration of British West Africa in the global economy, c. 1840–1940

AbstractDespite the essential role of trade for African economies, in the extensive literature on the historical evolution of international trade costs, Africa is still missing. In this article, we contribute to filling this gap by (1) providing the first estimates of British West Africa's trade costs with Britain c. 1840–1940 by computing relative price gaps in a representative sample of African export and European import prices, and (2) analysing the main determinants of trade costs trends, by regressing price gaps on measures of transport costs, market efficiency, and trade barriers. The results uncover a diverging pattern in African and global trade costs trends, which was not noticed in the previous literature. British West Africa experienced a reduction in its trade costs with Britain c. 1840–70, similar to the one we observe in other world areas, thanks to improvements in shipping technology and market efficiency. From the late 1870s, however, as colonial monopsonistic trading companies consolidated their control of African export markets, trade costs continued to decline in the rest of the world, but not in British West Africa. Consequently, from the late nineteenth century, trade for West Africa became relatively more expensive than for other world regions.

Description of the Cattle and Small Ruminants Trade Network in Senegal and Implication for the Surveillance of Animal Diseases

Livestock mobility, particularly that of small and large ruminants, is one of the main pillars of production and trade in West Africa: livestock is moved around in search of better grazing or sold in markets for domestic consumption and for festival-related activities. These movements cover several thousand kilometers and have the capability of connecting the whole West African region, thus facilitating the diffusion of many animal and zoonotic diseases. Several factors shape mobility patterns even in normal years and surveillance systems need to account for such changes. In this paper, we present an approach based on temporal network theory to identify possible sentinel locations, i.e., locations where pathogens circulation can be detected in the early phase of the epidemic (before the peak), using two indicators: vulnerability (i.e., the probability of being reached by the disease) and time of infection (i.e., the time of first arrival of the disease). Using these indicators in our structural analysis of the changing network enabled us to identify a set of nodes that could be used in an early warning system. As a case study, we simulated the introduction of transboundary animal diseases in Senegal and used data taken from 2020 Sanitary certificates (laissez-passer sanitaire (LPS)) issued by the Senegalese Veterinary Services to reconstruct the national mobility network. Our analysis showed that a static approach can significantly overestimate the speed and the extent of disease propagation, whereas temporal analysis revealed that the reachability and vulnerability of the different administrative departments (used as nodes of the mobility network) change over the course of the year. For this reason, several sets of sentinel nodes were identified in different periods of the year, underlining the role of temporality in shaping patterns of disease diffusion.

Assessing the impact of the wildlife trade in West Africa (Benin): Functional diversity matters too

We tackle the potential impact of bushmeat markets (BM) and traditional medicine markets (TMM) on the functional diversity of mammalian communities in southern Benin, West Africa. A hybrid approach combining direct observations, DNA-typing and questionnaires allowed us to identify 94 species-level taxa across 11 mammalian orders, the greatest ever reported numbers for African wildlife markets. TMM sold species of high conservation concern or regulated by international conventions and sourced among all the taxonomic orders and bioclimatic zones of the country. BM were taxonomically and functionally 100% nested within TMM. However, functional richness was high in both markets, impacting nine diet specializations and five ecological functions, which included seed dispersion (frugivores, folivores and omnivores), prey regulation (carnivores and invertivores), browsing (folivores), grazing (omnivores) and fertilization (nectarivores). TMM likely jeopardized the regulatory, structural and production functions of the sourced ecosystems as they sold species with the greatest body weights and generation lengths, and smallest litter sizes, including large herbivores and keystone predators. BM, despite their restricted range, sourced among a non-selective taxonomic and functional spectrum and as such, also represent a significant threat to ecosystem functioning in southern Benin. The functional database that we provide can serve as a starting point to pursue the quantification of functional diversity in African mammals and further investigate the impact of wildlife markets on ecosystem functioning in tropical Africa. Overall, long-term surveys of the two types of wildlife markets are needed to accurately quantify the threat they constitute to mammalian biodiversity and the sustainability of ecosystem services.

German brass for Benin Bronzes: Geochemical analysis insights into the early Atlantic trade.

Utilizing geochemical analysis, this study identifies the sources of European brass used in the casting of the renowned Benin Bronzes, produced by the Edo people of Nigeria. It is commonly believed that distinctive brass rings known as "manillas", used as currency in the European trade in West Africa, also served as a metal source for the making of the Bronzes. However, prior to the current study, no research had conclusively connected the Benin artworks and the European manillas. For this research, manillas from shipwrecks in African, American and European waters dating between the 16th and 19th Century were analysed using ICP-MS analysis. Comparing trace elements and lead isotope ratios of manillas and Benin Bronzes identifies Germany as the principal source of the manillas used in the West African trade between the 15th and 18th centuries before British industries took over the brass trade in the late 18th century.

Mary Wills. Envoys of Abolition: British Naval Officers and the Campaign against the Slave Trade in West Africa.

Mary Wills. <i>Envoys of Abolition: British Naval Officers and the Campaign against the Slave Trade in West Africa</i>.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Challenges of Regional Integration in West Africa

This study examined the challenges of ECOWAS in fostering regional integration in West Africa. Anchored on the Marxist theory of the state and qualitative data generated through documentary method, the study observed that the production of homogenous raw materials by member states of ECOWAS has reinforced vertical trade relations with industrialized countries and thus hinder intra-ECOWAS trade. The study also noted that incessant checkpoints on selected routes of the Community highways, characterized by inhuman treatment, extortion, and arbitrary imposition of charges have undermined free movement of persons, goods, services and capital within the sub-region. The study thus posits that despite all the efforts put into integration of ECOWAS economics, intra-regional trade in West Africa has remained very low. Among others, the study recommends that member states of ECOWAS should ensure effective implementation of ECOWAS Treaties/Protocols in their territories. Keywords: Economic Community of West African States, regional trade, West Africa, integration, free movement

Seeking serpents: Ball python trade in Benin, West Africa

Ball pythons are traded as bushmeat, leather and belief-based medicine in West Africa, and specimens are exported in large numbers for the exotic pet trade. Here, we focused on understanding the purpose and socio-economic context of this trade in Benin through interviews with 44 actors involved in the trade of this species. We provided a snapshot of trade dynamics during a period when hunters are not predominantly actively involved in supplying eggs, neonates and gravid females for ranching and export as exotic pets. Our findings revealed that hunters and traders were largely focused on supplying the bushmeat and medicine markets in West Africa during this time. We estimated that the 21 collectors engaged in hunting in our study collectively hunt between 576 and 5,083 ball pythons from the wild each year. Collection rates reported by some suggests that they could earn more than 15,000 USD from ball python sales in bushmeat markets annually. Ball pythons hunted in Benin were mainly sold to local customers as “bushmeat” (53%) or for belief-based uses (39%) (including “fetish”, “medicinal products” and “voodoo”). However, cross-border trade with neighboring countries of Togo, Nigeria, and Ghana (or even further) also occurred. Although profitable for some, the scale of this practice, together with the widely reported decline in ball python populations in Benin, raises concern about the sustainability and long-term economic viability of this type of large-scale commercial wildlife trade in West Africa, especially as it occurs alongside extensive ranching practices to support the exotic pet trade.

The Nexus among Energy Consumption, Economic Growth and Trade Openness: Evidence from West Africa

The West African region has experienced high economic development. With the increasing energy consumption and emissions, how to coordinate the relationship among energy consumption, trade opening, and economic growth, and how to develop a low-carbon development pattern are becoming the most important issues in West Africa. This paper uses the tri-variable Toda-Yamamoto model to investigate the dynamic interactions among energy consumption, economic growth, and trade in West Africa. The findings indicate that, first, the positive impact of energy consumption on economic growth in West Africa has shown a significant lag effect, and energy consumption has a strong trade-dependent relationship to economic promotion. Trade opening and economic growth in West Africa are mutually reinforcing in the long run. Next, the role of foreign trade in boosting economic growth is more significant in countries with lower levels of economic development. Finally, when replacing the energy consumption indicator with CO2 emissions, the results remain robust. Considering the regional development differences, grouping countries by GDP per capita reveals that there exists a bilateral causal relationship between energy consumption and trade openness in the higher economic development group. The impact of trade openness on economic growth is more remarkable in countries with lower levels of economic development in West Africa. The findings have important implications for policymakers in understanding the economic development pattern of West Africa. It is necessary for West African countries to develop an integrated energy and trade policy in order to maintain long-term sustainable economic growth.

Continued availability and sale of pangolins in a major urban bushmeat market in Cameroon despite national bans and the COVID-19 outbreak.

Continued availability and sale of pangolins in a major urban bushmeat market in Cameroon despite national bans and the COVID-19 outbreak.

Bilateral Trade in West Africa: Does Digitalization Matter?

ABSTRACT This article investigates the effect of digitalization on bilateral trade in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We estimate the augmented gravity model to capture the effect of digitalization on bilateral trade using the POLS, GLS, and PPML estimators over 2000 to 2018. We find a significant positive effect of digitalization on bilateral trade for the ECOWAS region. The policy implication of this article is that bilateral trade in the region depends on digitalization. Therefore, economic agents’ efforts in the ECOWAS region should aim at policies that promote digitalization to enhance bilateral trade.

Kola as an Indispensable Article of Trade in West Africa

This study examines the origin of kola-nuts trade and the indispensability of kola-nut trade in West Africa. Desk research was carried out using past published literature. The study established the fact that kola nut production was indigenous to the West Africa Forest and pinpointed the actual origin of kola-nut especially Cola nitida to be along the western coast of Africa from Sierra Leone to the republic of Benin. On the other hand, the areas of Ijare and Idanre in Ondo State of Nigeria are currently believed to be the places where Cola acumunata originated. The dominant variety of kola-nut grown in Western and Eastern parts of Nigeria was cola acumunata and Cola verticillata. However, in terms of production, before the 19th century the production of cola nitida was limited to the forests west of the Volta River in Ghana. Both linguistic and ethnographic data were used to trace the origin of kola-nut and developed a chronology with regard to the origins and trade routes for kola-nuts. The research work however established the importance of kola-nut production and trade to the economies of West Africa countries where they are produced and traded. It was however recommended that considering the indispensability of kola-nut trade to West Africa particularly Nigeria, the government should take proactive steps to increase the scope of production and trade of this crop in order to improve the livelihoods of kola-nuts farmers and traders as well as increase it contributions to the national economy.

Kola as an Indispensable Article of Trade in West Africa

Kola as an Indispensable Article of Trade in West Africa

Evaluating the Effect of Digital Transformation on Improvement of Service Trade in West Africa

Digital revolution is instrumental to the wave of globalisation and transformation of the global economy. But the pace of digital transformation and service trade is low in the West African region. This article investigates the effect of digital transformation on the development of service trade in the region. This research captured digitisation in two standpoints: internet penetration rate and mobile subscription rate. The Im-Pesaran-Shin unit-root test affirms that the model is appropriate for panel autoregressive distributed lag estimation method. Adopting pool mean group estimator, the results attest for the existence of cointegrations in the model. The estimations reveal that the effect of digitisation on service trade is a long-run phenomenon. While the result is robust with export, it is not consistent with import. The long-run positive impact of digitisation on service export ranges from 0.087% to 0.159%, depending on the proxy for digitisation. The overall short-run effect is not statistically significant in export and not robust in import. It is reportedly consistent in some countries but not robust with some others. The region needs to rally in adopting and adapting to the new face of technology to improve service trade. JEL Codes: C23, F14, O33

The effect of the Ebola Virus Disease on intra-regional trade in West Africa

The West African sub-region experienced the World’s largest Ebola outbreak after its maiden outbreak in Central Africa. In this background, economic activities were heavily affected hence intra-regional trade shares of affected countries. Given this, the study seeks to investigate the effect of the Ebola Virus on affected countries’ shares to intra-regional trade. Additionally, the study seeks to investigate the impact of ECOWAS membership on trade in West Africa. The Poison Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) was used to estimate the augmented gravity model of international trade. The results showed that the Ebola Virus Disease reduced the share of affected countries’ trade to intra-regional partners by two folds. Also, the study showed that ECOWAS membership doubles the level of trade. The study concludes that the ECOWAS should be proactive in their response to disease outbreak by investing in research. Additionally, the study shows that Mauritania will benefit from opting for the ECOWAS.

Pre- and post-Ebola outbreak trends in wild meat trade in West Africa

Ebola virus disease, EVD, has been linked with wild meat. In Nigeria, strict restrictions on wild meat sales were applied after the first case in July 2014. We quantified wild meat trade in nine markets in southern Nigeria, during Oct. 2010 – Dec. 2019, and undertook consumer interviews during 2018–2019. Wild meat sales fell to low levels between during EVD (Jul. - Oct. 2014), after which Nigeria was declared Ebola-free. Prior to EVD (2012–2014), reptile carcass numbers declined markedly, collapsed during EVD, but rebounded immediately post-EVD until 2017 to values exceeding pre-EVD (especially true for turtles and tortoises). Reptile consumption increased as mammal numbers declined. After 2017, reptile numbers fell and remained low until the end of the study, indicating population collapses and depletion. Fruit bats and primates did not recover after EVD, but ungulates, rodents and carnivores increased significantly after EVD though never reached pre-EVD levels. Interviews revealed strong rural versus urban and age-specific differences regarding wild meat consumption and attitudes. Most people worried about Ebola and more than half of interviewees agreed that wild meat poses a transmission risk. Except urban males, over-60-year olds were least informed about the Ebola risk of wild meat, indicating that any future behavioural change campaign should focus on the younger age classes. Unlike other studies, our research clearly shows that changes in purchasing behaviour of consumers and education campaigns were effective in reducing the trade of bats and primates, animal groups likely to be implicated in the transmission of Ebola.

Gendered Dynamics of Cross-Border Trade in West Africa

Gendered Dynamics of Cross-Border Trade in West Africa

Regional Trade and the Challenges of Data Protection in West Africa

This paper interrogates the current legal regime on data protection West Africa and the impact of data and data protection on regional trade as well as the challenges facing data protection in West Africa. It further examines the strides ECOWAS member states must cover with regards to data protection so as to create space for a robust digital economy and regional trade in West Africa.

Transmission Effect of Uncertainties in USA &amp; China Trade Spat on West Africa Trade Relationships

We investigated the transmission effects of the trade spat between the United States and China on the relative trade openness of the West African sub-region. We found that economic policy uncertainty in China positively and significantly influence relative openness and the trade war is a positively significant driver of relative openness of the West African economy to China unlike the United States, with no significant influence in the short run, but a relative elasticity of 32% in the long run of openness to the trade war. The speed of adjustment as shown by the error correction representation is faster in openness to China than it is for the United States. As the economies of the West African sub-region appear vulnerable to the trade war and uncertainties in the United States and China, it is expected that deliberate policy mitigants be put in place to cushion the transmission effects of the trade war.

Network analysis of regional livestock trade in West Africa.

In West Africa, long and complex livestock value chains connect producers mostly in the Sahel with consumption basins in urban areas and the coast. Regional livestock trade is highly informal and, despite recent efforts to understand animal movement patterns in the region, remains largely unrecorded. Using CILSS' database on intraregional livestock trade, we built yearly and overall weighted networks of animal movements between markets. We mapped and characterized the trade networks, identified market communities, key markets and their roles. Additionally, we compared the observed network properties with null-model generated ensembles. Most movements corresponded to cattle, were made by vehicle, and originated in Burkina Faso. We found that live animals in the central and eastern trade basins flow through well-defined, long distance trade corridors where markets tend to trade in a disassortive way with others in their proximity. Modularity-based communities indicated that both national and cross-border trade groups exist. The network's degree and link distributions followed a log-normal or a power-law distribution, and key markets located primarily in urban centers and near borders serve as hubs that give peripheral markets access to the regional network. The null model ensembles could not reproduce the observed higher-level properties, particularly the propinquity and highly negative assortativity, suggesting that other possibly spatial factors shape the structure of regional live animal trade. Our findings support eliminating cross-border impediments and improving the condition of the regional road network, which limit intraregional trade of and contribute to the high prices of food products in West Africa. Although with limitations, our study sheds light on the abstruse structure of regional livestock trade, and the role of trade communities and markets in West Africa.