Be Good to Thy Neighbors: A Spatial Analysis of Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in Sub‐Saharan Africa

World Economy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao‐Yu Chih ◽  
Ruby P. Kishan ◽  
Andrew Ojede
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

Effect of Infrastructure and Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Nketiah-Amponsah ◽  
Bernard Sarpong
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Infrastructure ◽  
Sub Saharan

This article investigates the effect of infrastructure and foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using panel data on 46 countries covering the period 2003–2017. The data were analyzed using fixed effects, random effects, and system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation techniques. Based on the system GMM estimates, the results indicate that a 1 percent improvement in electricity and transport infrastructure induces growth by 0.09 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively. Additionally, FDI proved to be growth enhancing only when interacted with infrastructure. The interactive effect of FDI and infrastructure improves economic growth by 0.016 percent. The results suggest that public provision of economic infrastructure reduces the cost of production for multinational enterprises, thus providing an incentive to increase investment in the domestic economy to sustain economic growth. The results also suggest that the impact of FDI on economic growth is maximized when some level of economic infrastructure is available. Our findings thus provide ample justification on the need for a significant government investment in infrastructure to provide a less costly business environment for both local and multinational enterprises to improve economic growth.

How does foreign direct investment affect growth in sub-Saharan Africa? New evidence from threshold analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oyakhilome Ibhagui
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Threshold Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Threshold Levels ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Ssa Countries

PurposeThe threshold regression framework is used to examine the effect of foreign direct investment on growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The growth literature is awash with divergent evidence on the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth. Although the FDI–growth nexus has been studied in diverse ways, very few studies have examined the relationship within the framework of threshold analysis. Furthermore, even where this framework has been adopted, none of the previous studies has comprehensively examined the FDI–growth nexus in the broader SSA. In this paper, within the standard panel and threshold regression framework, the problem of determining the growth impact of FDI is revisited.Design/methodology/approachSix variables are used as thresholds – inflation, initial income, population growth, trade openness, financial market development and human capital, and the analysis is based on a large panel data set that comprises 45 SSA countries for the years 1985–2013.FindingsThe results of this study show that the direct impact of FDI on growth is largely ambiguous and inconsistent. However, under the threshold analysis, it is evident that FDI accelerates economic growth when SSA countries have achieved certain threshold levels of inflation, population growth and financial markets development. This evidence is largely invariant qualitatively and is robust to different empirical specifications. FDI enhances growth in SSA when inflation and private sector credit are below their threshold levels while human capital and population growth are above their threshold levels.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is twofold. First, the paper streamlines the threshold analysis of FDI–growth nexus to focus on countries in SSA – previous studies on FDI-growth nexus in SSA are country-specific and time series–based (see Tshepo, 2014; Raheem and Oyınlola, 2013 and Bende-Nabende, 2002). This paper provides a panel analysis and considers a broader set of up to 45 SSA countries. Such a broad set of SSA countries had never been considered in the literature. Second, the paper expands on available threshold variables to include two new important macroeconomic variables, population growth and inflation which, though are important absorptive capacities but, until now, had not been used as thresholds in the FDI–growth literature. The rationale for including these variables as thresholds stems from the evidence of an empirical relationship between population growth and economic growth, see Darrat and Al-Yousif (1999), and between inflation and economic growth, see Kremer et al. (2013).

Human capital threshold, foreign direct investment and economic growth: evidence from sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friday Osemenshan Anetor
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Growth Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sub Saharan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the mediating effect of human capital in foreign direct investment (FDI) and growth nexus and establish the threshold of human capital in 28 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries over the period 1999–2017. Design/methodology/approach This study used a secondary source of data obtained from the World Development Indicator and used the system generalized method of moments and dynamic panel threshold regression (TR) to analyze the data. Findings This study found that FDI and human capital have no significant impact on the economic growth in SSA. However, when the interactive term of FDI and human capital was introduced in the model, the economic growth effect of FDI became positive and significant, while the coefficient of the interactive term is negative and significant. This presupposes that SSA does not have a sufficient high-quality workforce that can absorb and transform the spillover benefits of FDI into economic growth. As a result, this study applied the TR to determine the minimum level of human capital and established a threshold level at 63.91%. Practical implications It, therefore, becomes pertinent for policymakers in the SSA region to have a human capital policy to build up their absorptive capacities to fully take advantage of FDI. Originality/value The contribution of this study lies in establishing a threshold of human capital at 63.91% for countries in the SSA region.

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.

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