Based on a detailed empirical study, this paper argues that regional liberalization of trucking services has had an important effect on transport costs and tariffs for Zambia's economy. Zambia is a peculiar example in Southern Africa as it benefits from relatively low transport costs compared...

This report is based on two case studies carried out in Brazil and India on the impact of various strategies to reduce the cost of trade for small-scale producers. Small scale producers especially those located in lagging regions in developing countries lack easy access to efficient logistics...

This map summarizes information on the connectivity of 67 important South Asian cities concerning infrastructure networks. The map combines four information layers to reveal a city's overall stature in the region's infrastructure networks, i.e. rail, road, air, and information technology...

Improving levels of trade facilitation is one of the remaining challenges to enhancing connectivity and trade growth in South Asia, but border and internal security concerns are often perceived as a barrier to implementing key reforms. Security is a legitimate issue for South Asian nations. But...

Services have a direct impact on the competitiveness of the goods sector. This paper illustrates the importance of logistics services, their trade dimension, and how regulatory issues act as perhaps one of the most significant barriers to competitiveness. The paper discusses recent developments...

This paper presents a coping strategy that small-scale cross-border traders adopted in response to the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and examines its impact. Using a cross-sectional data set of 1,159 traders from the borderlands of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, the paper assesses...

The eastern South Asia region (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal) has extensive networks of all the main modes of surface transport for the movement of goods, both within and between countries. However, goods transport in the region is heavily dependent on a single mode-road...

Customs have been at the core of development concerns, especially in developing countries. In this context, customs are developmentally important to the extent that they sit at the intersection between fiscal imperatives-due to their revenue collection potential and trade-related...

The objective of this report is to identify ways of enhancing competitiveness through sector reforms in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali (the Cotton-4). The report promotes best practices to manage cost and define sales strategies so as to enhance the contribution of the cotton sector to...

Based on quantitative and qualitative data, this paper attempts to identify the main reasons why cargo dwell time in Durban port has dramatically reduced in the past decade to a current average of 3-4 days. A major customs reform; changes in port storage tariffs coupled with strict enforcement;...