Clarifying the Relationship between Seaborne Trade Flows of Landlocked Developing Countries and the Attributes of their Cross-border Transport Corridors

Abstract

There are 32 landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) listed by the United Nations. Difficulties in transporting international cargo are often blamed for their slow economic growth. However, it remains unclear whether the influential attributes of corridors to such countries stimulate trade flow increases. Therefore, we clarify the attributes of cross-border corridors that influence the seaborne trade cargo flow of LLDCs. Empirical analysis with a fixed effects model was conducted using annual panel data from 2010 to 2015 related to cross-border corridors leading to 19 LLDCs. The attributes of each cross-border corridor were estimated using publicly available statistical data. The results revealed that attributes such as weighted mean applied tariff, road quality, and the economic levels of such countries are statistically significant. Estimated coefficients suggest that improvements in the aforementioned attributes will be associated with an increase in trade volume. These findings could be useful for development donors and their projects.