| Abstract: | Empirical estimates of the determinants of import demand for consumer and non-consumer commodities in the Republic of Cameroon are derived using cointegration and error-correction modelling. Commodity import demand is estimated for the period 1970 to 1993. Disaggregation of total merchandise imports into three classes of consumer goods (food, beverage and tobacco; other consumer goods; animal and vegetable products) and seven classes of non-consumer goods (mineral products; semi-finished goods; finished goods; agricultural equipment; industrial equipment; transport equipment; and petroleum products) reveals that imports of consumer goods are more sensitive to import price and income changes than is the case with non-consumer goods. Rising import prices have a depressing effect on trade in consumer goods and appear to encourage demand for domestic substitutes of these goods. Over time, income elasticities of import demand become larger than short-run elasticities, suggesting a greater degree of 'openness' of the Cameroon economy. Bibliogr., sum. |
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