Democracy and Growth: The Sub-Saharan African Case, 1960-1992

1996 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Feng
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Domestic Investment ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Initial Size ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
National Analysis ◽  
Cross National

This article conducts a cross-national analysis of forty sub-Saharan African countries during the years 1960-1992. It examines the long-run relationship between political democracy and economic growth, taking advantage of the availability of large economic and political data sets. The conclusion from this study is that the economy grows faster under a regime that enjoys a higher level of institutionalized democracy. It is also found that a positive feedback relationship exists between democracy and growth; while democracy promotes growth, growth leads to a higher level of democratization. In addition, it is found that the duration of authoritarian rule decreases economic growth, while growth shortens the tenure of an autocratic government. Other factors that account for growth in sub-Saharan African countries include the initial size of the economy, human capital stocks, domestic investment share, and international trade.

scholarly journals Growth Limits: A Conceptual Analysis for Sustainable Development in Nigeria

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402091827
Author(s):  
Oluwabunmi O. Adejumo
Keyword(s):  
Time Series Data ◽  
Optimal Growth ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Limits To Growth ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Sub Saharan

In the school of development thought, growth has been identified as a viable alternative to the challenge of poverty and economic backwardness. However, the ecologists have continuously challenged the growth position in relation to environmental degradation and depletion. It is against this background; this study examined the limits to growth in Nigeria beyond which there will be inimical consequences for the environment. The study employed time series data that spanned between 1970 and 2014. These data sets were sourced from the World Development Indicators. Based on the assimilation model, threshold estimates were used to identify optimal growth regions, whereas regression estimates were used to measure growth effects. It was discovered that below the identified growth limit, there are currently significant negative impacts on the quality of the environment in Nigeria via economic growth. This study is a single-country case, that is, Nigeria; hence, the study can be expanded to include other sub-Saharan African countries. The study adds to knowledge by establishing the prospects for sustainability in the quality of the environment in the long run; therefore, policies designed in this areas have higher likelihood of attaining sustainability.

scholarly journals Financial development and economic growth: literature survey and empirical evidence from sub-Saharan African countries

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songul Kakilli Acaravci ◽  
Ilhan Ozturk ◽  
Ali Acaravci
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Real Gdp ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Domestic Credit ◽  
Real Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

In this paper we review the literature on the finance-growth nexus and investigate the causality between financial development and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 1975-2005. Using panel co-integration and panel GMM estimation for causality, the results of the panel co-integration analysis provide evidence of no long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth. The empirical findings in the paper show a bi-directional causal relationship between the growth of real GDP per capita and the domestic credit provided by the banking sector for the panels of 24 Sub-Saharan African countries. The findings imply that African countries can accelerate their economic growth by improving their financial systems and vice versa.

scholarly journals Can financial development influence economic growth: The sub-Saharan analysis?

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thobeka Ncanywa ◽  
Karabo Mabusela
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Financial Sector ◽  
Financial Economic ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Macroeconomic Policies ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Sub Saharan

Orientation: Financial sector development in a vast majority of sub-Saharan African countries has the potential to reduce the volatility of growth.Research purpose: This article is aimed at determining the influence of financial development on economic growth in selected sub-Saharan African countries.Motivation for the study: In most of the sub-Saharan countries, financial sectors are among the world’s least developed, and the absence of deep, efficient financial markets puts major constraints on economic growth.Research approach/design and method: This article employed panel autoregressive and distributive lag model to determine the relationship between financial development and economic growth.Main findings: The results indicated that there exists a short- and a long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth in the selected countries. In the long run, bank credit to the private sector and liquid liabilities have a positive influence on economic growth, with gross domestic savings exhibiting a negative influence.Practical/managerial implications: This article makes recommendations that as financial stability, both globally and within countries, generates jobs and improves productivity, more effort should be made in ensuring an effective and sound developed financial sector system.Contribution/value-add: The financial-economic growth nexus indicate that a well-functioning financial market development can promote economic growth. However, some controversies exist as some evidence indicated that a negative or positive financial development–growth nexus exists, so there was a need to find out what is the sub-Saharan case. Furthermore, there was a need to find development regulatory and macroeconomic policies that enhance growth.

The relationships between foreign direct investment, domestic savings, domestic investment, and economic growth: The case of Sub-Saharan Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-217
Author(s):  
Nurudeen Abu ◽  
Mohd Zaini Abd Karim
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Domestic Investment ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Domestic Savings ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

Despite the large body of research on foreign direct investment, domestic savings, domestic investment and economic growth, little has been done to investigate the relationships among them. This paper examines the relationships among foreign direct investment, domestic savings, domestic investment, and economic growth in 16 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 1981 to 2011, using various techniques. The results of VAR estimation and Granger causality tests demonstrate that there is a unidirectional causality from foreign investment to growth and domestic investment, savings to growth, and a bidirectional causality between growth and domestic investment as well as savings and domestic investment. The results of the variance decomposition analysis reveal that foreign investment exerts more influence on growth. Savings are more important in explaining domestic investment, growth is more important in explaining foreign investment, and domestic investment is more important in explaining savings. Based on the results of the impulse response analysis, there is a positive unidirectional causality from foreign investment to growth and domestic investment, savings to growth, and a positive bidirectional causality between savings and domestic investment, both in the short and long-run. Although there is feedback causality between domestic investment and growth, the impact from investment is negative in the short-run and positive in the long-run. Thus, policies that encourage foreign investment and savings are required to boost domestic investment and promote growth, and policies that raise domestic investment will lead to higher savings and growth in SSA.

scholarly journals The Long-Run Effects of Trade Openness on Carbon Emissions in Sub-Saharan African Countries

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 5295
Author(s):  
Huaping Sun ◽  
Love Enna ◽  
Augustine Monney ◽  
Dang Khoa Tran ◽  
Ehsan Rasoulinezhad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Trade Openness ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Sub Saharan

Using a panel cointegration model developed based on the data extracted from the World Bank indicators, this study quantified the relationship between carbon emissions, energy consumption, economic growth, and trade openness in sub-Saharan African countries. It discovered from our analysis that there exists a long-run causality association amongst CO2 emissions, energy consumption, economic growth, and trade openness. The study noted the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) in the panel using the square term for trade openness; it was found to have a negative impact, thus trade in the long run will somewhat decrease the environmental pollution in this region. The study results imply that there should be stringent policies and rigorous enforcement in sub-Saharan African to ensure sustainable growth without associative environmental issues.

scholarly journals ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-129
Author(s):  
S. O. AKINBODE ◽  
T. M. BOLARINWA ◽  
O. O. HASSAN
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Granger Causality ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Causality Test ◽  
Distributed Lag ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Sub Saharan

Economies of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have been growing slowly in recent time. Economic growth is thought to affect inequality but not much is known about the nature of such relationship in SSA and there is no concordance among the few available. This paper examined the relationship between economic growth and inequality in the region using data from 1990 to 2017estimated with the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model and Granger Causality. Hausman’s test suggested the superiority of the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) over the Mean Group (MG) Model. The PMG results showed that economic growth had significant and negative effect on income inequality (proxy by GINI-coefficient) in the long run suggesting a state of the later part of the Kuznet curve. This is in addition to the negative effect in the short run which is contrary to the theory. Furthermore, the result of the Granger Causality test revealed evidence of unidirectional relationship running from economic growth to income inequality in the region. Therefore, the study recommended that governments of Sub-Saharan African countries should implement policies and programmes capable of sustaining and improving inclusive growth in order to avoid high income inequality in the region.      

Fiscal variables and growth convergence in the ECOWAS

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-163
Author(s):  
Cosimo Magazzino
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Government Expenditure ◽  
West African ◽  
Causality Analysis ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Fiscal Balance ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship among fiscal variables (net lending, government expenditure and revenue) and economic growth in Sub-Saharan African countries. Design/methodology/approach – Using yearly data for the period between 1980 and 2011 in 15 Economic Communities Of West African States (ECOWAS) countries, the relationship among fiscal variables, economic growth and trade is investigated, through various econometric techniques. Findings – Government expenditure and revenue show pro-cyclical effects in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and ECOWAS countries, while fiscal balance has a pro-cyclical nature for WAEMU during the years 1999-2011. Moreover, a weak long-run relationship between government expenditure and revenue emerge, but only in the case of West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) countries. Granger causality analysis showed mixed results for WAEMU countries, while for four out of six WAMZ countries (Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone) the “tax-and-spend” hypothesis holds, since government revenue would drive the expenditure. Finally, in the last three decades, cyclical component of economic growth has reduced its fluctuations, both for WAEMU and WAMZ member States. Originality/value – This is the first study on the effects of fiscal policies in the ECOWAS countries.

scholarly journals Growth effects of migrants’ remittances in selected Sub-Saharan African countries

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taiwo Ajilore ◽  
Sylvanus Ikhide
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Cape Verde ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Real Gdp ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Relationship

The study examined the assumption that ‘size matters’ in the empirical controversy of the relationship between migrants’ remittances and economic growth. This is done through an empirical analysis of the remittances-growth relationships in selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, where remittance inflows are overwhelming proportions of real GDP. The study used data at the country level, for five countries: Cape Verde, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. The long-run ARDL estimates indicate positive and significant effects of migrants’ remittances on growth performance in Cape Verde and Nigeria, but negative, and slightly significant effects for Lesotho, with no evidence of long-run level relationships between remittances and economic growth in Senegal and Togo. Thus, the assumption that size may matter in the remittance–growth nexus finds no support, as findings provide no significant departure from the existing inconclusiveness of empirical literature on the relationship. For policy, the study advocates country-level policies that improve the efficiency of remittance inflows and promote the use of remittances for developmental purposes.

The impact of foreign capital inflows on economic growth on selected African countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mowlaei
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Foreign Capital ◽  
Economic Planning ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Domestic Investment ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Foreign Capital Inflows ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Nowadays, foreign capital inflow (FCI) is considered as a catalyst for economic development and an important source of transferring technology and foreign exchange earnings from developed to developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to study, first, the impact of different forms of FCIs, namely, foreign direct investment (FDI), personal remittances (PR) and official development assistant (ODA) on economic growth on 26 top African countries; and, second, which of them is more effective on economic growth of the studied countries. The results of this paper are very important for host governments’ policy and help them to design their economic plans to absorb the suitable foreign inflow. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses Pooled Mean Group (PMG) econometric technique to estimate the heterogeneous panels over the period 1992–2016. Findings The results of the study show that all three forms of FCIs have positive and significant effects on economic growth in the long and short run. However, the PR had the most effect on economic growth in the long and short run. The study suggests that the governments should design and implement appropriate fiscal, monetary and trade policies in order to create and improve an enabling environment to attract FCIs as a supplementary source of domestic investment. Research limitations/implications The research limitations of this paper are as follows: data sets of FDI, PR and ODA were available not for all African countries; and, data sets that were available were of before the year 1992. Thus, the research is done for the African countries which had the data sets after the year 1992. Practical implications The result of this paper indicates the impact of each FDI, PR and ODA in economic growth. So, countries can take more attentions to each of them on economic planning. Social implications FCIs are one of the important external source of exchange for each country. So, the study of importance of each of them is necessary for economic planning. Originality/value Most of the previous studies have examined the impact of three different forms of FCIs on economic growth separately, on different countries and regions and using various models and econometric techniques. One of the contributions of this paper is focused on the impacts of FDI, PR and ODA on economic growth separately and simultaneously in 26 top recipient African countries and using the PMG technique which is an advanced econometrical estimation and studied less about it. The other contribution of this research is the comparison of the impact of different FCIs on economic growth, and it is very important for governments’ economic policy.

scholarly journals Does Research Output Matter for Economic Growth in Sub Saharan African Countries? Quantity and Quality Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Hichem Dkhili ◽  
Khaled Adnan Oweis
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Quality Analysis ◽  
Domestic Investment ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Domestic Savings ◽  
Sub Saharan

We study the link between university rankings and economic growth in Sub Saharan African Countries (SSA)? By applying the panel data analysis method and the system GMM technique used on a sample of 43 SSA countries during the period 1996-2015. Our results indicate that academic research exerts a positive and significant effect on the level of economic growth for both fixed and random effect. However, this relation seems to be insignificant when we run GMM in system regression. Also, findings show that domestic investment (INVES) and gross domestic savings (GDSAV) are considered as key factors for boosting economic growth in the SSA region. Contrary, the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) is positive but not significant for fixed and random effect regressions.

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