The analysis of market integration and price transmission – results and implications in an African context

A vast literature on market integration and price transmission has accumulated over the last half century. This literature has received major impetus, first from the introduction of increasingly sophisticated co-integration methods since the late 1980s, and second from the so-called food price crisis of 2007–2008, which heightened interest in the transmission of food price spikes in space and along the supply chain. In this paper I review the literature on price transmission and market integration, highlighting applications in an African setting. I begin by reviewing the basic methods that are commonly used in price transmission analysis, as well as several extensions that have gained prevalence in recent years. I then discuss several important limitations and challenges that remain to be addressed in future research on price transmission and market integration.