Trade Facilitation, ICT And Manufactured Export Performance In Tanzania: What Is The Missing Link?
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Date
2007-12
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Abstract
This study focuses on testing the hypothesis that application of ICT at firm level and trade
facilitation policies has a causal impact on the quality and quantity of manufactured
exports, productivity and investment. The study findings based on production function
estimates show a strong positive correlation between unobserved time invariant firm
characteristics with the level of application of ICT, exports and productivity performance.
Following the estimates based on GMM, when we control for firm fixed effects, the results
suggest a strong positive correlation between unobserved firm fixed effects and both ICT
and trade facilitation. Further findings of the study are that trade facilitation policies
measured by government policies on prices, facilities on access to imported raw materials,
preferential trade access and overall trade policy changes have significant influences on
firm level performance of exports and productivity. Therefore, the potential missing links for
the workability of trade facilitation and productivity are access to credit, skilled labour,
demand deficiency and trade policy certainty. To halt stagnation of Tanzanian
manufacturing exports and growth, via trade facilitation such as firm level factors, must be
addressed.
Description
Keywords
Information Communication and Technology, Trade facilitation, Export
Citation
Kahyarara, D.G.W. and Ngasamiaku, W.M., (2007). ‘Trade Facilitation, ICT and Manufactured Export Performance in Tanzania: What is the missing link?. Business Management Review, 11, p.2.