Food retail expansion patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa: Institutional and regional perspectives

Abstract

Food retail transformation in developing countries continues to receive attention due to its implications for business expansion and food system development. We assess the dynamism of supermarketization in two relatively understudied regions—Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa—applying the institution-based view and econometric analysis of a pooled cross-sectional dataset of over 700 country-year observations. While modern food retail has shown rapid growth, the traditional food retail segment is still dominant in both regions. The observed food retail patterns may be attributed to economic factors (income levels), sociodemographic (female labor force participation, urbanization, and religion), and institutional factors (control of corruption, ease of starting a business, time to enforce a contract, and World Trade Organization membership). However, while economic and sociodemographic variables exhibit similar effects in both regions, results are mixed regarding the institutional factors; potential explanations are suggested [EconLit citations: O100, L100]. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.