Impact of regulatory frameworks on informal cross border trade in Nigeria : a case study of the rice import restriction and border closure of 2019
department or school: Law, Peter A. Allard School of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Omotosho, Mariam Ololade
issued: 2021-08-16T16:39:43Z
issued: 2021
related degree: Master of Laws - LLM
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Informal cross border trade (ICBT) appears to be neglected in trade policy discussions in Nigeria and Africa despite its enormous contribution to income earnings and food security. Regulatory policies often perceive ICBT as a social and economic threat. Hence, government policies often focus on the formal traders, neglecting the challenges encountered by informal cross border traders. ICBT constitutes the bulk of the informal economy and comprises vulnerable, small traders who use informal channels for trade as a result of non-inclusive government policies. Failure to develop regulations and policies that incorporate the realities of informal cross border traders is costly to both the ICBT actors and the government. First, a significant portion of government revenue is lost to ICBT in unpaid customs duties and tax. Second, existing policies continue to exclude traders involved in ICBT, preventing them from benefiting from incentives and other trade facilitation initiatives by the government. Excluding informal cross border traders in trade policy discussions undermines the profitability of cross border trade for all economic actors. This research combines a theory-driven approach with empirical case studies to evaluate the impact of regulatory frameworks on ICBT in Nigeria. Examining the rice import restriction and border closure policies implemented in 2019, this thesis demonstrates that (i) the trade regulatory framework in Nigeria is non-inclusive of ICBT, (ii) hostility and non-inclusion further drives informality in cross border trade in Nigeria, and in Africa, and, (iii) ICBT actors are crucial to building effective trade regulatory frameworks. By identifying the ideological gaps in the current regulatory framework, I propose a reform to the cross border trade regulatory framework in Nigeria. I also identify the gaps in regional trade regulatory frameworks. The empirical case studies corroborate the need for a reform in the approach to cross border trade regul…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/79301
note: IMPACT OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS ON INFORMAL CROSS BORDER TRADE IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE RICE IMPORT RESTRICTION AND BORDER CLOSURE OF 2019 by Mariam Ololade Omotosho LL.B., The University of Ibadan, 2016 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF LAWS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2021 © Mariam Ololade Omotosho, 2021 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: Impact of Regulatory Frameworks on Informal Cross Border Trade in Nigeria: A Case Study of the Rice Import Restriction and Border Closure of 2019 submitted by Mariam Ololade Omotosho in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws in Law Examining Committee: Carol Liao, Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law Supervisor Sara Ghebremusse, Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Informal cross border trade (ICBT) appears to be neglected in trade policy discussions in Nigeria and Africa despite its enormous contribution to income earnings and food security. Regulatory policies often perceive ICBT as a social and economic threat. Hence, government policies often focus on the formal traders, neglecting the challenges encountered by informal cross border traders. ICBT constitutes the bulk of the informal economy and comprises vulnerable, small traders who use informal channels for trade as a result of non-inclusive government policies. Failure to develop regulations and policies that incorporate the realities of informal cross border traders is costly to both the ICBT actors and the government. First, a significant portion of government revenue is lost to ICBT in unpaid customs duties and tax. Second, existing policies continue to exclude traders involved in ICBT, preventing them from benefiting from in…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2021-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0401421
language: eng
degree discipline: Law
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Liao, Carol
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/79301