The impact of maritime infrastructure on trade between Morocco and West Africa

Abstract

This article examines the impact of maritime infrastructure on trade improvement between Morocco and West Africa. It addresses a specific research gap: although the literature on port performance, trade facilitation, logistics governance and regional integration has expanded, the Morocco-West Africa corridor remains insufficiently documented through an empirical, multi-determinant approach combining infrastructure, governance, regional cooperation, digital innovation, environmental sustainability and geo-economic factors. The study is based on a questionnaire survey of 103 stakeholders operating in maritime, port, logistics and institutional activities. A structural equation model is estimated, with trade improvement as the dependent latent variable and maritime infrastructure efficiency as the main explanatory construct. The model also controls for strategic governance and regulation, regional cooperation and economic integration, digital technologies and logistics innovation, environmental sustainability, and geo-economic and geopolitical factors. The findings indicate that maritime infrastructure efficiency is positively and statistically associated with trade improvement (B = 0.278; p = 0.001). The control variables also display positive effects, especially environmental sustainability, strategic governance and regional cooperation. Descriptive results show favorable perceptions regarding infrastructure adequacy, equipment modernization and transit-time reduction. However, maritime connectivity appears as the most nuanced component, suggesting that port modernization does not automatically generate dense, regular and adapted maritime services. The article contributes to the literature by showing that port infrastructure is an important driver of trade facilitation, but its commercial effect is embedded in a broader system of governance, connectivity, cooperation and sustainability. The results support a systemic view of maritime logistics policy in the Atlantic and West African regional space.

JEL Classification: F14; F15; L91; R41; C38; C51

Paper type: Empirical research