Up before Dawn : Experimental Evidence from a Cross-Border Trader Training at the Democratic Republic of Congo鈥揜wanda Border
Cross-border traders, many of whom are women, face harassment and corruption, which can undermine potential gains
Abstract
Small-scale cross-border trade provides opportunities for economic gains in many developing countries. Yet cross-border traders 鈥� many of whom are women 鈥� 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)鈥揜wanda 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 Hirschman鈥檚 Exit, Voice, and Loyalty framework. The effects are achieved through early border crossings at unofficial hours (exit) instead of traders鈥� 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 women鈥檚 economic empowerment programme
Citation
Croke, Kevin; Garcia Mora, Maria Elena; Goldstein, Markus P.; Mensah, Edouard Romeo; O鈥橲ullivan, Michael B..2020. Up before Dawn : Experimental Evidence from a Cross-Border Trader Training at the Democratic Republic of Congo鈥揜wanda Border (English). Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 9123 Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group.