This study examines the impact of infrastructural development on bilateral trade flows using a panel of 51 African countries from 2003 to 2015. An infrastructure-augmented gravity model was estimated with different indicators of infrastructural development. Three aggregate indicators were computed namely: (i) a soft infrastructure index, (ii) a hard infrastructure measure, and (iii) an effective infrastructure index combining both soft and hard infrastructure components. The soft and hard infrastructure indices were constructed using the principal component analysis.

In January 2018, the 10th African Union (AU) Summit of African Heads of States and Governments was held in Kigali. At this occasion, 44 countries had signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. In this study, it is pointed out that the implementation of AfCFTA cannot be done without harmonized trade procedures. Using a gravity model of 49 African countries over the 2010-2015 periods, the study estimates the impact of inefficient trade procedures on intra-African trade.

Nigeria’s recent announcement confirming that it is closing its borders to prevent movement of all goods has been met with harsh criticism from neighbors and regional integration advocates. The Buhari administration has justified the decision as a tactic to curb smuggling of goods of which the country wants to internally increase production, such as rice.