This study sought to explore empirically the impact of an Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) on customs revenue performance at the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA). We used monthly time series data sourced from the LRA, the Central Bank of Liberia, and various series of the Harmonized Tariff of Liberia. The data spans from January 2015 to December 2018. We employed the bounds testing approach to the Cointegration and Error Correction Model that is established within the Autoregressive Distributed Lag framework. The results revealed that total trade (Import*Export), goods and services tax (GST) and ASYCUDA positively impact customs revenue performance in both the short and long run while export and inflation were found to negatively affect customs revenue performance in both the short and long run. In addition, an error correction term of -0.837 was found, indicating that 83.7 per cent of the deviation created by shocks in the short run will be corrected in the long run; thus, confirming the existence of a long-run relationship among the variables used. For policy purposes, these findings suggest that ASYCUDA be rolled out to other ports of entry and exit to boost the efficiency of customs revenue generation. Moreover, capacity building should be carried out to complement the effective use of ASYCUDA. We also recommend that policies to reduce inflation be prioritised.

The rate of inflation in Liberia has increased significantly over the last two decades and, since the ascendency of the new government headed by President George Manneh Weah, it has become more pronounced. The steep rise in inflation is increasingly eroding the purchasing power of consumers, thus leading to welfare decline especially for low income earners. The overarching objective of this study is to assess the determinants of inflation in Liberia. To achieve this objective, this study employs Bounds Testing Approach and Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) techniques using monthly time series data spanning the period 2014 to 2018. The empirical findings of this study reveal that, the current rate of inflation in Liberia is largely influenced by the unauthorized printing and infusion of new banknotes into the economy by the Central Bank of Liberia. In addendum, the results show that Customs taxes, foreign exchange rate depreciation arising from balance of payment deficits, international oil price, and import are key determinants of inflation in Liberia. Consistent with the results, this study recommends the demonetization of the current Liberian dollars banknotes (both old and new). This will provide the central bank with reliable data regarding the total quantity of Liberian dollars in circulation, thereby enabling the bank to promulgate salient contractionary monetary policies that would drive the current rate of inflation to single digit. Additionally, this study recommends that the government of Liberia embark upon diversification policies with greater emphasis placed on value addition in manufacturing and agricultural production for domestic consumption. JEL Classification Codes: E31; E58.