Up before Dawn : Experimental Evidence from a Cross-Border Trader Training at the Democratic Republic of Congo바카라 사이트“Rwanda Border

Cross-border traders, many of whom are women, face harassment and corruption, which can undermine potential gains

From:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Published
13 January 2021
Country:
Congo (Democratic Republic) and Rwanda
Document Type:
Working Paper
Theme:
Economic Growth and Social Change
First published:
31 January 2020
Authors:
Croke, K, Mora, G, Elena, M and Goldstein, M.P.

Abstract

Small-scale cross-border trade provides opportunities for economic gains in many developing countries. Yet cross-border traders 바카라 사이트“ many of whom are women 바카라 사이트“ face harassment and corruption, which can undermine these potential gains. This paper presents evidence from a randomized controlled trial of a training intervention that provided access to information on procedures, tariffs, and rights to small-scale traders to facilitate border crossings, lower corruption, and reduce gender-based violence along the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)바카라 사이트“Rwanda border. The training reduces bribe payment by 5 percentage points in the full sample and by 27.5 percentage points on average among compliers. The training also reduces the incidence of gender-based violence by 5.4 percentage points (30.5 percentage points among compliers). The paper assesses competing explanations for the impacts using a game-theoretic model based on Hirschman바카라 사이트™s Exit, Voice, and Loyalty framework. The effects are achieved through early border crossings at unofficial hours (exit) instead of traders바카라 사이트™ use of voice mechanisms or reduced rent-seeking from border officials. These results highlight the need to improve governance and establish clear cross-border trade regulations, particularly on the DRC side of the border.

This work is part of the Closing the Gender Gap in Africa: evaluating new policies and programmes for women바카라 사이트™s economic empowerment programme

Citation

Croke, Kevin; Garcia Mora, Maria Elena; Goldstein, Markus P.; Mensah, Edouard Romeo; O바카라 사이트™Sullivan, Michael B..2020. Up before Dawn : Experimental Evidence from a Cross-Border Trader Training at the Democratic Republic of Congo바카라 사이트“Rwanda Border (English). Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 9123 Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group.

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Published 13 January 2021
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