Trade Reforms and Poverty: A Gender Welfare Impact of the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs on Households in Togo

International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics, Forthcoming

Posted: 8 Feb 2018

Date Written: January 30, 2018

Abstract

This paper estimated the welfare outcomes of Togo’s implementation of the common external tariff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with particular focus on gender issue. First, we detect the induced changes in prices following the transition to the ECOWAS CET. Second, we calculated these changes in price on household welfare. Further, we will use an estimation to analyze the effects of changes in prices and income whether households (female-headed and male-headed households) live in urban or rural areas. We explore the impact of ECOWAS-TEC on households’ welfare through the remittances’ mechanism.

We found that the share of household expenditure allocated for food declined as the income level increases, in both urban and rural areas and for both male- and female-headed households. The results also denote that ECOWAS-CET has a net positive effect on consumer households in Togo. In Togo, government social transfer is pro-poor because it left the poor better off. But it benefits more to male-headed households, leaving women behind. Contrary to the theory, households leaving closer to the port city don’t observe the biggest increase in the welfare. Our analysis found that households in Lome (where the distance from the port city is zero) experienced the lowest increase in the welfare while households in Kara ( at 411 kilometers from the port) have the highest welfare score.

Keywords: CET, welfare, ECOWAS

JEL Classification: F15, H31, I31, I32, J16

Suggested Citation

Wonyra, Kwami Ossadzifo and Ametoglo, Muriel Eyram Silo and Guo, Ping, Trade Reforms and Poverty: A Gender Welfare Impact of the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs on Households in Togo (January 30, 2018). International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3113816

Kwami Ossadzifo Wonyra (Contact Author)

University of Kara, Togo ( email )

FaSEG, University of Kara
Kara, Togo 43
Togo
+228 90013209 (Phone)

Ping Guo

Independent ( email )

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