Governance and the quality of imported products in Tanzania: the case of Dar es Salaam City
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Date
2020
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
Developing countries are experiencing high level of imported products as a result of free trade and globalization. The products originate from various countries across the world, mostly from Europe and Asia. This scenario is caused by measures put forward towards reduction of trade barriers, various trade agreements and the globalizing influence of associations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). Despite of presence of Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) as Regulatory Authority for quality control in the country, still the number of substandard imported products increased for the past five years at an average of about 5.3 percent (NBS, 2015). The central objective of this study was examining the role of governance on quality of imported goods in Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed at examining the influence of institutional setup, laws and regulations as well as corruption on the quality of the imported products. A total of 200 consumers of imported products in Dar es Salaam were surveyed using a well-structured questionnaire to answer the intended objectives. The study employed log it regression approach to examine the role of governance on quality of imported products. Suitability of the approach is attributed to the binary nature of the dependent variable with the value of 1 if the quality of imported product is good and 0 if otherwise. Findings revealed that corruption is significant negatively related to the quality of the imported products. However, institutional setup and laws and regulations were not found significant in explaining the quality of the imported products. Therefore, this study recommends that there should be strong measures to control corruption practices especially regarding the importation of the products. These measures should include strategies that will monitor imported products, ensure conducting of quality checks and remove rooms for providing and receiving corruption. Furthermore, strong punishments need to be enforced against all people who involve themselves with corruption, who eventually jeopardize the quality of the imported goods.
Description
Available in print form, EAF collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Library, (THS EAF HF1419.T34M432)
Keywords
Imports, International trade, Quality of products, Dar es salaam, Tanzania
Citation
Mbega, Mwalimu Kassimu (2020) Governance and the quality of imported products in Tanzania: the case of Dar es Salaam City ,Masters dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam.