Brulhart, MariusHoppe, Mombert2012-03-192012-03-192011-12-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3678This working paper assesses cross-border economic integration in the Lower Congo region. It focuses on the Kinshasa-Brazzaville conurbation, which is projected to become Africa's largest urban area by 2025, and is already serving as the gateway to large hinterlands. Despite their size and proximity, formal economic exchanges between the two cities are extremely limited. The volume of recorded passenger travel between Kinshasa and Brazzaville corresponds to about one-fifth of the volume of traffic between East and West Berlin during the time of the Berlin Wall, and formal trade volumes are derisorily small. As a consequence, the authors find evidence of statistically significant differences in retail prices, indicating unexploited scope for cross-river arbitrage. Through a survey of firms, they find that local traders perceive substantial scope for increasing cross-border economic activity if cross-river trade costs were reduced. Trade in locally produced goods and by small firms would especially benefit from such reductions. Existing high trade costs mainly result from a lack of competition in cross-river transport services, which are dominated by a duopoly of state-controlled operators. High administrative border costs, exacerbated by the presence of multiple government agencies at the border, act as a further obstacle. Liberalization of cross-river transport and customs reform could yield large economic benefits for local producers and consumers.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCIDENTSADMINISTRATIVE COSTSADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURESAIRPORTARBITRAGEARTERYAVERAGE TARIFFSAVERAGE TRADEBONDBORDER CROSSINGSBORDER TRAFFICBRIBERYBRIDGECAPITAL GOODSCAPITAL STOCKCARCHANGES IN TRADECLIENT BASESCOMMON MARKETCOMPETITIVE ADVANTAGESCONCESSIONSCONFIDENTIALITYCONSUMER GOODSCONSUMERSCOST OF TRANSPORTCROSS-BORDER EXPANSIONCROSS-BORDER TRADECROSSINGCUSTOMER SERVICECUSTOMSCUSTOMS ADMINISTRATIONCUSTOMS AUTHORITIESCUSTOMS DUTIESCUSTOMS FORMALITIESCUSTOMS PROCEDURESCUSTOMS UNIONCUSTOMS UNIONSDEMOGRAPHICDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT POLICYDIESELDIESEL ENGINESDIVIDENDSDUOPOLYECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GEOGRAPHYECONOMIC INTEGRATIONECONOMIC POLICYECONOMIC RELATIONSECONOMIC RENTSECONOMIC STRUCTURESELASTICITIESELASTICITYELASTICITY OF TRADEENTRY POINTENTRY POINTSEUROPEAN UNIONEXCHANGE RATESEXCISE DUTIESEXCLUSIVE RIGHTSEXPANSION OF TRADEEXPORT OPPORTUNITIESEXPORT PROCESSINGEXPORT PROCESSING ZONEEXPORT SECTORSEXPORTSEXTERNAL TRADEFARESFERRIESFINANCE CORPORATIONFLAT FAREFOREIGN EXCHANGEFOREIGN MARKETSFRAUDFREE TRADEFREE TRADE AGREEMENTSFREE TRADE AREAFREIGHTFREQUENT TRAVELERSFUELFUEL COSTSGASOLINEGDPGENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCESGOOD TRANSPORTGOODS IN TRANSITGROWTH RATESHAULAGE COMPANIESHIGH TRADE BARRIERSHIGH TRANSPORTHOME MARKETHUMAN CAPITALIMPACT OF TRADEIMPORT COSTSIMPORT DUTIESIMPORT PRICESINCOMEINDIVIDUAL FIRMSINDIVIDUAL MARKETINEFFICIENCYINFRASTRUCTURE FUNDINGINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTSINFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTSINSPECTIONINSURANCEINTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTSINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERNATIONAL TRADEJOURNEYJOURNEYSLOCAL CURRENCYMARGINAL COSTMARGINAL REVENUEMARKET INEFFICIENCYMARKET INTEGRATIONMARKET PRICESMARKET SEGMENTATIONMARKET STRUCTUREMEASURE OF TRADEMISMANAGEMENTMODE OF TRANSPORTMONOPOLYNEIGHBORHOODSPASSENGER TRAFFICPASSENGER TRANSPORTPASSENGER TRAVELPASSENGERSPATTERNS OF TRADEPAYMENT POINTSPENSIONPENSION LIABILITIESPENSIONERSPOLICEPOLICY MAKERSPOLICY RESEARCHPOPULATION DENSITYPORT AUTHORITYPORT FACILITIESPREFERENTIAL TRADEPREFERENTIAL TRADE AGREEMENTPRICE DIFFERENTIALSPRIVATE TRANSPORTPRIVATIZATIONPRODUCT DIFFERENTIATIONRAILRAIL FREIGHTRAIL LINKRAILWAYRAILWAY LINERAPID INDUSTRIALIZATIONRED TAPEREGIONAL AGREEMENTSREGIONAL INTEGRATIONREGIONAL INTEGRATION AGREEMENTSREGIONAL TRADEREGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTSREGIONALISMREGRESSION ANALYSISREGULATORY BARRIERSRETAIL MARKETSROADROAD INFRASTRUCTUREROAD TRANSPORTROUTEROUTESSAFETYSECURITY CONCERNSSPECIALIZATIONSTATISTICAL ANALYSISSTRICT CONFIDENTIALITYSUBURBSTARIFF REVENUETARIFF SCHEDULETAXTAX SYSTEMTRADE BALANCETRADE BARRIERSTRADE COSTSTRADE DATATRADE EXPANSIONTRADE FACILITATIONTRADE FLOWSTRADE INTEGRATIONTRADE LIBERALIZATIONTRADE ORGANIZATIONSTRADE POLICYTRADE VOLUMESTRADING ACTIVITYTRAFFIC VOLUMESTRANSITTRANSIT TRADETRANSPORTTRANSPORT COSTSTRANSPORT FACILITIESTRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURETRANSPORT MARKETTRANSPORT OPERATORSTRANSPORT SERVICESTRANSPORTSTRAVELERSTREATIESTRIPTRIPSTRUCK DELIVERYTRUETURNOVERURBANIZATIONVALUE ADDEDVEHICLEVEHICLESVOLUME OF TRADEVOLUME OF TRAFFICWORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORSWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-5909