Air Cargo Services and the Export Flows of Developing Countries

Abstract

The use of air cargo by low-income countries and the effects of freight charges on their export flows are described. This is accomplished by illustrating the difference between export flows from developing countries of perishable products and high-tech goods. Descriptive statistics are used to highlight the importance of trade that travels by air from these countries to the United States and the European Union. Subsequently, costs of air freight are estimated. A gravity model of trade measures the effect of these costs on export flows. Major institutional and regulatory constraints that may be halting additional trade that relies on air transportation, and the implications for economic growth, are identified.

Citation

Vega, H.L. (2014), "Air Cargo Services and the Export Flows of Developing Countries", The Economics of International Airline Transport (Advances in Airline Economics, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 199-234. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2212-160920140000004007