Do economic growth and institutional quality reduce poverty and inequality in West Africa?

This study provides a pioneer analysis of the growth effect of WAEMU integration at the econometric level, unlike the extant literature that relied on descriptive analysis of the sub-region’s trade statistics. The study used robust instrumental variables system GMM regression in the framework of a cross-country growth model and annual panel data for the period 2000 to 2015. Contrary to the widely held view that regional economic integration fosters economic growth of the participating countries, we did not find any empirical support for a positive growth impact of WAEMU integration in West Africa, which may be due to a variety of factors that mainly point to the characteristics of the WAEMU economies. However, the results indicate that foreign direct investment (FDI), institutional quality, capital, labour and the initial real per capita GDP are important drivers of growth in the sub-region. Interestingly, the results further indicate that FDI and institutional quality are the channels through which WAEMU integration may impact on growth in West Africa. The study therefore concludes that policy reforms towards improved institutions and increased FDIs will enhance economic growth in West Africa.

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Corruption, Institutional Quality and Economic Growth in West African Countries (1995-2017)

Journal of Public Administration and Governance ◽

10.5296/jpag.v9i2.14915 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 217

Author(s):

Osabiyi, Kolawole Emmanuel ◽

Aiyegbusi Oluwole. Oladipo ◽

OLOFIN, Olabode Philip

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

West Africa ◽

Institutional Quality ◽

Political Stability ◽

West African ◽

Series Data ◽

Panel Var ◽

African Countries ◽

Regulatory Quality ◽

Control Of Corruption

This study examines the relationship among corruption, institutional quality and economic growth; and analyses the interaction effects of corruption and institutional qualities such as political stability and absence of violence (pv), government effectiveness (ge), regulatory quality (rq), control of corruption (cc), voice and accountability (va), and rule of law (rl) on economic growth (gdp) in West African Countries. Time series data covering the period between 1995 and 2017 were employed with Panel VAR method. Our results showed that corruption (cp) and economic growth are negatively related at lag one, and positively related at lag two, but the results were statistically insignificant. All institutional quality indicators, except ge are negatively related to economic growth at lag one, but at lag 2, positively related except rq, cc, and pv. These results were also statistically insignificant, except that of pv which is statistically significant.Our results also showed that interaction of control of corruption with corruption (cccp); regulatory quality with corruption (rqcp); and political stability and absence of violence with corruption (pvcp) negatively affect economic growth in West Africa both at lag one and two and were statistically insignificant. These results are expected in countries that are poorly rated both in terms of corruption and institutional quality. The study suggests reasonable policy interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of corruption as well as improving institutional quality in West Africa Countries.

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Chile

10.1093/oso/9780198801085.003.0010 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Guillermo Cruces ◽

Gary S. Fields ◽

David Jaume ◽

Mariana Viollaz

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Labour Market ◽

Unemployment Rate ◽

Educational Level ◽

International Crisis ◽

Occupational Position ◽

Rapid Economic Growth ◽

Poverty And Inequality

During the 2000s Chile achieved rapid economic growth and improved most labour market indicators: the unemployment rate fell; the mix of employment by occupational position and sector improved; the educational level of the employed population, the percentage of registered workers, and labour earnings increased; and all poverty and inequality indicators decreased. The economy suffered a recession during the international crisis of 2008, but recovered quickly. The chapter shows that some labour market indicators were negatively affected by the crisis. The unemployment rate was the only indicator that did not return to its pre-crisis level by the end of the period studied.

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Institutional Quality and Trade Flow: Empirical Evidence from Malaysia and Other OIC Member Countries in Africa

Insight on Africa ◽

10.1177/0975087820987174 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 097508782098717

Author(s):

Hammed Agboola Yusuf ◽

Luqman Olanrewaju Afolabi ◽

Waliu Olawale Shittu ◽

Kafilah Lola Gold ◽

Murtala Muhammad

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Bilateral Trade ◽

Trade Flow ◽

Estimation Method ◽

Institutional Quality ◽

Likelihood Estimation ◽

Political Stability ◽

Bilateral Trade Flow ◽

World Governance Indicators ◽

The Impact

This article examines the impact of institutional quality on bilateral trade flow between Malaysia and selected 25 African Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries. Four institutional qualities were selected from World Governance Indicators with other trade predictors from the period from 1985 to 2016. Using gravity model of trade and Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood estimation method (PPML) technique, the results confirm that government effectiveness, regulatory quality and political stability have an adverse effect on bilateral trade flow among the OIC countries in Africa. On the other hand, these institutional quality variables were considered as a strength for Malaysian economic growth. Therefore, better institutional quality reforms are needed among OIC member countries in Africa in order to accelerate trade, economic growth and development in their region.

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Sustainable Utilization of Financial and Institutional Resources in Reducing Income Inequality and Poverty

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13031038 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 1038

Author(s):

Atta Ullah ◽

Zhao Kui ◽

Saif Ullah ◽

Chen Pinglu ◽

Saba Khan

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Income Inequality ◽

Financial Development ◽

Institutional Quality ◽

Vital Role ◽

Electronic Government ◽

Sustainable Utilization ◽

One Belt One Road ◽

Institutional Resources ◽

Belt And Road

This study aims to determine the role of globalization, electronic government, financial development, concerning the moderation of institutional quality in reducing income inequality and poverty in One Belt One Road countries. The electronic government and regional integration of the economies of the One Belt One Road countries has increased globalization and can play a vital role in reducing income inequality and poverty. However, this globalization and digital transformation of government systems can only be beneficial in the presence of good institutional quality. The sample includes 64 One Belt One Road countries from 2003 to 2018. We employed a two-step system generalized method of moment (Sys-GMM) and a robustness check through Driscoll–Kraay standard errors regression. Our findings show that globalization, economic growth, e-government development, government expenditure, and inflation have a statistically significant and negative impact on income inequality and are key to eradicating income inequality and poverty. On the other hand, financial development, gross capital formation, and population size positively influence income inequality, which causes an increase in poverty and income inequality as financial development and population levels increase. Moderating variable institutional quality also positively impacts income inequality, which means that institutional quality in Belt and Road Countries is weak, as they are mostly developing countries that need to improve their systems. Moreover, the marginal effect also revealed that institutional quality has a corrective effect on the factors’ relationship with income inequality. Our findings endorse and conclude that globalization and e-government development improve economic growth and eradicate poverty and income inequality by boosting digitalization, investments, job creation, and wage increases for semi-skilled and unskilled human capital in Belt and Road countries. The sustainable utilization of financial and institutional resources plays a vital role in reducing income inequality and poverty in Belt and Road countries.

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Do BRI policy and institutional quality influence economic growth and environmental quality? An empirical analysis from South Asian countries affiliated with the Belt and Road Initiative

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-021-16330-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Junaid Ashraf ◽

Liangqing Luo ◽

Muhammad Khalid Anser

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Empirical Analysis ◽

South Asian ◽

Environmental Quality ◽

Institutional Quality ◽

Belt And Road Initiative ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Belt And Road ◽

The Belt And Road

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Chinese foreign direct investment and economic growth in West Africa

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on E-commerce, E-Business and E-Government - ICEEG '18 ◽

10.1145/3234781.3234791 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Kankou Hadia Fofana ◽

Enjun Xia ◽

Mamadou Bado Traore

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Foreign Direct Investment ◽

West Africa ◽

Direct Investment ◽

Chinese Foreign Direct Investment

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Economic Growth and Unemployment Issues in Ten (10) Selected West African Countries: A Panel Data Analysis

Journal of Economics Management and Trade ◽

10.9734/jemt/2019/v25i530208 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Joseph Eshun

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

West Africa ◽

Panel Data Analysis ◽

Fixed Effect ◽

Okun’S Law ◽

African Countries ◽

Okun's Law ◽

Unit Increase ◽

Effect Regression ◽

Variable Bias

The economic growth of nations continue to be one of the main issues that economists have been interested in analyzing. In effect, several theories have emerged to explain the growth of nations including the Okun’s law which tests the relationship between economic growth and unemployment. Using the World Bank Dataset, the study tested the validity of Okun's Law in West Africa by employing fixed effect regressions to control for inconsistencies of the OLS estimates due to omitted variable bias. The random and time-fixed effect regressions confirm the validity of the Okun's Law in West Africa. The time-fixed effect regression shows that, economic growth will decline by 0.311 annually for every unit increase in the rate of unemployment. Time variant effects such as changes in policy provides a stronger case for the effect of unemployment rate volatility on the growth of these economies. It is therefore recommended that, various stakeholders adopt efficient fiscal and monetary policies aimed at lowering the rate of unemployment thereby expanding economic growth. One of such policies could be the reduction of the high corporate tax rates in the region that is bedeviling African countries by preventing industries and businesses from being built.

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