Connecting Landlocked Developing
Countries to Markets : Trade Corridors in the 21st Century

The importance of transport corridors
for trade and development, including for some of the poorest
countries in the world, is widely recognized in this book. A
new consensus has also emerged that reducing trade costs and
improving access to corridors is not just a matter of
building infrastructure. The policies that regulate
transport services providers and the movement of goods along
corridors are important determinants of the social rate of
return on such infrastructure investment. This book avoids
optimistic assumptions regarding the prospects for new
high-level agreements and decisions to facilitate transit or
the possible benefits from increased use of technology.
Instead, the authors argue that much can be done through the
implementation of readily available existing tools. The use
of these tools is often hampered by not only capacity
constraints; but, equally if not more important, a lack of
commitment. Political economic factors in both the
landlocked countries and their transit neighbors must be
recognized and addressed. This book offers examples of
possible implementation strategies that, while challenging,
should in principle help in overcoming these political
economic constraints. The main message is that to bring
about efficient trade corridors governments and stakeholders
should focus on properly implementing the fiscal,
regulatory, and procedural principles for international
transit that encourage quality-driven logistics services.
The various implementation challenges are the primary focus
of this book.