Briefing Paper

The Pursuit of Industrialization in the EAC region: The Role of Trade Facilitating Infrastructure in Promoting exports of Manufactured goods

Infrastructure services are recognised as fundamental elements of productivity and economic growth of any country. This brief examines the impact of economic infrastructure on the export of manufactured products in the East African Community (EAC) region using a gravity model and data from the COMTRADE and World Integrated Trade Solutions (WITS) database. Results indicate that the largest gain in manufactured exports is realized through investment in the stock of road infrastructure, electricity and public transparency for the individual EAC countries.