Customs and Excise Duties as Determinants of Economic Development of West African Countries

The study focused on custom and excise duties and economic development of West African countries. Gross domestic product, per capita income and inflation rate were used to measure economic development. To achieve the objectives of the study ex-post facto research design was adopted. The population of the study is made up all the 16 West African countries while the sample size is made up of 10 West African countries that were purposively selected. The findings revealed that custom and excise duties have a positive and significant effect on gross domestic product of West African countries. However, custom and excise duties have a negative and no significant effect on per capita income and inflation rate of West African countries. The study recommends that West African countries should work toward harmonizing customs and excise duties. The study also recommends that West African countries should strengthen customs administration through digitalization, automation, and anti-corruption measures can significantly improve revenue collection, reduce delays at ports, and boost investor confidence. Efficient border processes also reduce transaction costs for businesses. This will in turn improve per capita income of West African countries.

Custom and excise duties, economic development, Laffer curve theory, macroeconomic variables and Autoregressive Distributed Lag.

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