Fishery Value Chains and Environmental Pollution in West Africa: Does Institutional Quality Matter?

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the effect of integration into global value chains on environmental pollution in West Africa, specifically in the fisheries sector. It covers 13 West African countries over the period from 1990 to 2019, employing the Driscoll and Kraay estimation technique with country and year fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity and cross‐sectional dependence. The results show that participating in global value chains in the fisheries sector generally helps to reduce environmental impact. The role of institutions is important: when they function well, they limit pollution, but can also, in some cases, exacerbate certain negative effects related to fishing. Based on the results, the study recommends strengthening environmental governance and protecting fisheries resources.