Publications

As happened in West Africa in 2008, in an imported inflation context, it is common for the governments to take short-term tax action to protect the poor: VAT or trade tariffs exemptions. As part of the tax-tariff transition, the comparison between Trade tariffs and VAT has already been the subject of much works. The introduction of VAT, as a tax on final consumption, is supposed to be optimal, due to its economically neutral aspect for production decisions. However, some authors show that in developing countries, a large informal sector affects this result. In this paper, we use a CGE model and a micro-simulation model to compare the effects of VAT and Trade tariffs exemptions to combat rising agricultural food prices. The approach is innovative because it integrates how VAT works in developing countries (VAT increases production costs for some producers), in a context of imperfect competition for the service of marketing products. Results show that VAT exemptions are more effective than Trade tariffs exemptions in limiting the effects of the rise in world prices on poverty in Niger. In the context of the current increase in food prices linked to the Covid 19 crisis (FAO, 2020) this issues may once again be in the limelight for the african governments.

The set of measures that affect international trade in goods and services defines trade policy. Trade policies affect trade costs. ‘Good’ trade policy seeks to minimize trade costs. Traditionally trade policy was restricted to measures imposed at the border (tariffs, import quotas, export taxes, subsidies). It is now recognized that trade costs extend beyond border measures to include ‘behind-the-border’ measures (logistics, regulations). Trade costs also depend on the quality of the institutional environment (completeness of contracts and enforcement). This primer proposes elements of a ‘good trade policy’ for an African country where the context is country-specific but where common geographical characteristics, common policies, and common market failures often prevail. 

In 2019, Algeria has been at the forefront of African political life, with the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April. The economy is currently suffering, not so much from its growth rate, price, and cost competitiveness, as from its inability to diversify and create the hundreds of thousands of jobs needed each year for the annual cohort of young people who enter the labor market.

The assessment of the sources of attractiveness through the prism of the SCO reveals, despite some geographical handicaps (isolation and aridity of the territory), that Botswana has good governance, strong human and financial capital, and the infrastructure to stimulate a diversification that will reduce structural dependence on diamonds.

En Afrique, les performances dans la fourniture de services intérieurs de transport et de logistique sont faibles. On peut analyser cette inefficacité en testant d’abord un modèle économétrique où la variable expliquée est le prix de revient d’un conteneur importé, information tirée du Doing Business, depuis son port d’arrivée (Gateway) jusqu’à sa destination finale dans un entrepôt. Par usage de la technique de régression économétrique sur l’ensemble du continent, on régresse ce prix sur un vecteur de variables relevant de la géographie, mais aussi de l’économie. Plane P. (2019) "Transport et logistique en Afrique Analyse économétrique et évaluation du corridor Abidjan Ouagadougou", Ferdi Note brève B185, janvier 2019.