Publication: Development at the Border : Policies and National Integration in Cote d'Ivoire and its Neighbors
Date
2013-09
ISSN
Published
2013-09
Author(s)
Cogneau, Denis
Mesple-Somps, Sandrine
Spielvogel, Gilles
Abstract
Regression discontinuity designs applied
to a set of household surveys from the 1980-90s allow to
examine whether Cote d'Ivoire's aggregate wealth
was translated at the borders of neighboring countries. At
the border of Ghana and at the end of the 1980s, large
discontinuities are detected for consumption, child
stunting, and access to electricity and safe water. Border
discontinuities in consumption can be explained by
differences in cash crop policies (cocoa and coffee). When
these policies converged in the 1990s, the only differences
that persisted were those in rural facilities. In the North,
cash crop (cotton) income again made a difference for
consumption and nutrition (the case of Mali). On the one
hand, large differences in welfare can hold at the borders
dividing African countries despite their assumed porosity.
On the other hand, border discontinuities seem to reflect
the impact of reversible public policies rather than
intangible institutional traits.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Cogneau, Denis; Mesple-Somps, Sandrine; Spielvogel, Gilles. 2013. Development at the Border : Policies and National Integration in Cote d'Ivoire and its Neighbors. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6626. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16844 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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