Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/173009 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 6733
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
This paper revisits the hypothesis that landlocked regions are systematically poorer than regions with ocean access, using panel data for 1,527 subnational regions in 83 nations from 1950-2014. This data structure allows us to exploit within-country-time variation only (e.g., regional variation within France at one point in time), thereby controlling for a host of unobservables related to country-level particularities, such as a country's unique history, cultural attributes, or political institutions. Our results suggest lacking ocean access decreases regional GDP per capita by 10 - 13 percent. We then explore potential mechanisms and possible remedies. First, national political institutions appear to play a marginal role at best in the landlocked-income relationship. Second, the income gap between landlocked and non-landlocked regions within the same nation widens as i) GDP per capita rises, ii) international trade becomes more relevant for the nation, and iii) national production shifts to manufacturing. Finally, we find evidence consistent with the hypothesis that national infrastructure (i.e., transport-related infrastructure and rail lines) can alleviate the lagging behind of landlocked regions.
Subjects: 
landlockedness
geography
GDP per capita
trade openness
infrastructure
JEL: 
E43
H54
O18
O40
R12
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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