Development at the Border: Policies and National Integration in Cote D'Ivoire and its Neighbors

62 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Denis Cogneau

Denis Cogneau

Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD)

Sandrine Mesple-Somps

Développement Institutions & Analyses de Long Terme (DIAL); Université Paris Dauphine

Gilles Spielvogel

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) - Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS); Développement Institutions & Analyses de Long Terme (DIAL)

Date Written: September 1, 2013

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.

Keywords: Economic Theory & Research, Regional Economic Development, Climate Change Economics, Emerging Markets, Population Policies

Suggested Citation

Cogneau, Denis and Mesplé-Somps, Sandrine and Spielvogel, Gilles, Development at the Border: Policies and National Integration in Cote D'Ivoire and its Neighbors (September 1, 2013). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6626, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2333942

Denis Cogneau (Contact Author)

Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD) ( email )

4 rue d'Enghien
Paris 75010, 90009
France

Sandrine Mesplé-Somps

Développement Institutions & Analyses de Long Terme (DIAL) ( email )

France

Université Paris Dauphine ( email )

Place du Maréchal de Tassigny
Paris, Cedex 16 75775
France

Gilles Spielvogel

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) - Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS)

2 rue Andre Pascal
Paris Cedex 16, 75775
France

Développement Institutions & Analyses de Long Terme (DIAL)

France

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