Estimating Informal Trade across Tunisia's Land Borders

Ayadi, Lotfi ; Benjamin, Nancy ; Bensassi, Sami ; Raballand, Gaë ; l

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AGRICULTURE;    AIR;    AIR CONDITIONERS;    AIR CONDITIONING;    ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6731
RP-ID  :  WPS6731

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper uses mirror statistics andresearch in the field to estimate the magnitude ofTunisia's informal trade with Libya and Algeria. Theaim is to assess the scale of this trade and to evaluate theamount lost in taxes and duties as a result as well as toassess the local impact in terms of income generation. Themain findings show that within Tunisian trade as a whole,informal trade accounts for only a small share (5 percent oftotal imports). However, informal trade represents animportant part of the Tunisia's bilateral trade withLibya and Algeria, accounting for more than half theofficial trade with Libya and more than total official tradewith Algeria. The main reasons behind this large-scaleinformal trade are differences in the levels of subsidies oneither side of the border as well as the varying taxregimes. Tackling informal trade is not simply a question ofstepping up the number of controls and sanctions, becausedifferences in prices lead to informal trade (and to anincrease in corruption levels among border officials) evenin cases where the sanctions are severe. As localpopulations depend on cross-border trade for incomegeneration, they worry about local authorities taking actionagainst cross-border trade. At the same time, customsofficials are concerned about the risk of local protests ifthey strictly enforce the tariff regimes in place. Thisissue will become even more significant if fuel prices inTunisia rise again as a result of a reduction in the levelsof domestic subsidies.