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Rail Transport and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Tanzania

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dc.contributor.authorMchomvu, Yonas Eliesikia
dc.contributor.authorIimi, Atsushi
dc.contributor.authorHumphreys, Richard Martin
dc.date.accessioned2017-09-21T15:49:44Z
dc.date.available2017-09-21T15:49:44Z
dc.date.issued2017-08
dc.description.abstractRailway transport generally has the advantage for large-volume, long-haul freight operations. Africa possesses significant railway assets. However, many rail lines are currently not operational because of the lack of maintenance. The paper recasts light on the impact of rail transportation on firm productivity, using micro data collected in Tanzania. To avoid the endogeneity problem, the instrumental variable technique is used to estimate the impact of rail transport. The paper shows that the overall impact of rail use on firm costs is significant despite that the rail unit rates are set lower when the shipping distance is longer. Rail transport is a cost-effective option for firms. However, the study finds that firms' inventory is costly. This is a disadvantage of using rail transport. Rail operations are unreliable, adding more inventory costs to firms. The implied elasticity of demand for transport services is estimated at -1.01 to -0.52, relatively high in absolute terms. This indicates the rail users' sensitivity to prices as well as severity of modal competition against truck transportation. The study also finds that firm location matters to the decision to use rail services. Proximity to rail infrastructure is important for firms to take advantage of rail benefits.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/966401504009617940/Rail-transport-and-firm-productivity-evidence-from-Tanzania
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-8173
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/28348
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper;No. 8173
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subjectFIRM PRODUCTIVITY
dc.subjectTRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
dc.subjectRAIL TRANSPORT
dc.subjectINVENTORY COSTS
dc.titleRail Transport and Firm Productivityen
dc.title.subtitleEvidence from Tanzaniaen
dc.typeWorking Paperen
dc.typeDocument de travailfr
dc.typeDocumento de trabajoes
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleRail Transport and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Tanzania
okr.date.disclosure2017-08-29
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/966401504009617940/Rail-transport-and-firm-productivity-evidence-from-Tanzania
okr.guid966401504009617940
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-8173
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum090224b084f29410_1_0
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum27940438
okr.identifier.reportWPS8173
okr.importedtrue
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/966401504009617940/pdf/WPS8173.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeAfrica
okr.region.countryTanzania
okr.statistics.combined3098
okr.statistics.dr966401504009617940
okr.statistics.drstats2557
okr.topicTransport::Railways Transport
okr.topicTransport::Transport Economics Policy & Planning
okr.unitTransport and ICT Global Practice Group
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relation.isAuthorOfPublicationa734d476-25b5-59b8-9f46-7e8270e8eb74
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