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Are Borders Barriers? The Impact of International and Internal Ethnic Borders on Agricultural Markets in West Africa


Jenny C. Aker


Tufts University - The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Center for Global Development

Michael W. Klein


Tufts University - The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Stephen A. O'Connell


Swarthmore College - Economics Department; University of Oxford - Centre for Study of African Economics

Muzhe Yang


Lehigh University - Department of Economics

April 9, 2010

Center for Global Development Working Paper No. 208

Abstract:     
This paper addresses two important economic issues for Africa: the contribution of national borders and ethnicity to market segmentation and integration between and within countries. The authors find evidence of an international border effect between Niger and Nigeria for both a grain and a cash crop. The international border effect is lower, however, if the cross-border markets share a common ethnicity. Ethnicity is also linked to higher price dispersion within Niger; there is a significant intranational border effect between markets in different ethnic regions of the country. The authors provide suggestive evidence that the primary mechanism behind the internal border effect is related to the role of ethnicity in facilitating access to credit in agricultural markets. These results are robust to the use of regression discontinuity techniques.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 49

Keywords: Food, Agriculture

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Date posted: October 19, 2010  

Suggested Citation

Aker, Jenny C., Klein, Michael W., O'Connell, Stephen A. and Yang, Muzhe, Are Borders Barriers? The Impact of International and Internal Ethnic Borders on Agricultural Markets in West Africa (April 9, 2010). Center for Global Development Working Paper No. 208. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1693900 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1693900

Contact Information

Jenny C. Aker (Contact Author)
Tufts University - The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy ( email )
Medford, MA 02155
United States
Center for Global Development ( email )
1800 Massachusetts Ave NW
Third Floor
Washington, DC 20036
United States
Michael W. Klein
Tufts University - The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy ( email )
Medford, MA 02155
United States
617-627-2718 (Phone)
617-627-3712 (Fax)
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
Stephen A. O'Connell
Swarthmore College - Economics Department ( email )
Swarthmore, PA 19081
United States
610-328-8107 (Phone)
610-328-7352 (Fax)
HOME PAGE: http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/soconne1/
University of Oxford - Centre for Study of African Economics
Wellington Square
Oxford OX1 3JP
United Kingdom
Muzhe Yang
Lehigh University - Department of Economics ( email )
621 Taylor Street
Bethlehem, PA 18015
United States
Feedback to SSRN (Beta)


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