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.

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).

scholarly journals Healthcare Expenditure and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Birhanu Yimer Ali ◽  
Robert Moracha Ogeto
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Health Expenditure ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Domestic Saving ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan

This paper investigated the effect of health expenditure on economic growth in Sub Saharan Africa. The linear dynamic generalized method of moments instrumental variable (GMM-IV) was used on a panel data of 38 Sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2000-2016. Findings reveal that health expenditure significantly improves economic growth in Sub Saharan Africa. The separate effects of Public and private health expenditures have also shown a significant positive relationship on economic growth. In addition to health expenditure, other determinants like gross domestic saving, foreign direct investment, and labor force brought a statistically significant improvement on economic growth, whereas official development assistance has a statistically insignificant effect on economic growth. This study concluded that health expenditure is an important element in attaining improved economic growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries as it assured a healthy workforce and the country’s populace. Therefore, increasing the amount of health expenditure allocated to the health sector yields a better economy. More on, revising policies to improve gross domestic savings and foreign direct investment also assure a better economic growth.

Is the Ukrainian economy’s absorptive capacity appropriate to attract foreign direct investment and facilitate economic growth?

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1928-1947
Author(s):  
Svitlana Shevelova ◽  
Svitlana Plaskon
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Production Function ◽  
Transition Economies ◽  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Douglas Production Function

Purpose Despite an increasing volume of literature focussed on foreign direct investment (FDI) in transition economies, there has been little research into FDI in Ukraine. The relationship between the inflows of FDI (IFDI) and absorptive capacity (AC) has been under-researched in the peripheral transition countries like Ukraine. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the appropriateness of the Ukrainian economy’s AC to attract IFDI and facilitate economic growth with a particular focus on AC factors, such as the potential of human resources to absorb innovation and benefit from research and development (R&D) expenditure. Design/methodology/approach This study presents a thoughtful research design: there is an analysis of the AC framework for justification and selection factors that allows a measurement of the potential of Ukraine’s AC to attract and exploit IFDI. The study uses data from 25 regions in Ukraine for the 1996–2015 period. To estimate the effects of IFDI on Ukrainian economic growth, a Cobb–Douglas production function is used. As an appropriate instrumentation technique for dynamic panel data, the Generalised Method of Moments is used to provide unbiased and efficient estimates of the results. The application of the interactive term in this study allows the authors to indicate the existence of complementarities between IFDI and human capital, in particular with higher education, that afford opportunity to absorb new technologies and benefit from IFDI. Findings The resulting model indicates that R&D expenditure benefited very significantly in evolving country’s innovation system due to economic growth. Physical and human capital has not been used effectively in Ukraine to facilitate economic growth and attract IFDI. The number of patents is not significant in all of the regression models. Moreover, IFDI in Ukraine for the 1996–2015 period did not significantly impact on economic growth. However, the AC of human capital, in particular those with a higher education, is relatively relevant to benefit from IFDI. Practical implications The findings have important implications for governmental policy, which should be based on improving the business climate, a strategy for digital development, innovation, migration, institutional and regional policies aimed at the achievement of country’s sustainable economic growth. The government should increase R&D expenditure as an important factor of gross domestic product growth and introduce grants, loans and other financial supports for encouraging students to continue university education. Originality/value The originality and value of this paper is empirical and methodological. The empirical results of this study enable a conclusion about the appropriate level of the country’s absorptive capability required to benefit from IFDI. The paper also contributes to the existing academic debate and proves that despite the well-established theoretical framework for the IFDI–AC economic impact context, a new theorisation is needed to explore the full complexity of the country’s explicit relationship between AC and IFDI. Future research should be focussed on examining not only groups of countries but also distinctly the country’s explicit relationship between AC and IFDI with the particular attention for the under-researched countries: the peripheral transition economies to discover new research niches for theory building. This study presents an original methodological approach with a careful justification of the theoretical framework for hypothesis development, an appropriate sample and an original application of seminal research methods based on the Cobb–Douglas production function. This study proves that the interactive term, which allows indication of the existence of complementarities between IFDI and other variables, is appropriate for measuring AC in countries with smaller amounts of IFDI.

scholarly journals Selected macroeconomic determinants and economic growth in Cameroon (1970–2018) “dead or alive” an ARDL approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kesuh Jude Thaddeus ◽  
Chi Aloysius Ngong ◽  
Njimukala Moses Nebong ◽  
Akume Daniel Akume ◽  
Jumbo Urie Eleazar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Government Expenditure ◽  
Human Capital Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Capital Development ◽  
Macroeconomic Determinants ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine key macroeconomic determinants on Cameroon's economic growth from 1970 to 2018.Design/methodology/approachData were obtained from the World Development Indicators and applied on time series data econometric techniques. The auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds model analyzed the data since the variables had different order of integration.FindingsThe results showed long and short runs’ positive and significant connection between economic growth in Cameroon and government expenditure; trade openness, gross capital formation and exchange rate. Human capital development, foreign aid, money supply, inflation and foreign direct investment negatively and significantly affected economic growth in the short and long-runs. Hence, the macroeconomic indicators are not death.Research limitations/implicationsThe present research paper has tried to capture the impact of nine macroeconomic determinants on economic growth such as the government expenditure (LNGOVEXP), human capital development (LNHCD), foreign aids (AID), trade openness (LNTOP), foreign direct investment (LNFDI), gross capital formation (INVEST), broad money (LNM2), official exchange rate (LNEXHRATE) and Inflation (LNINFLA). However, these variables have the tendency to affect each other in a unidirectional or bidirectional manner. Further, the present research paper is unable to capture the impact of other macroeconomic variable due to the unavailability of data.Practical implicationsThe study recommends that Cameroon should use proper planning and strategic policy interventions to achieve higher sustainable economic growth with human capital development, foreign aid, money supply, foreign direct investment and moderate inflation.Social implicationsMacroeconomic indicators, if managed well, increase economic growth.Originality/valueThis paper to the best of the researcher's knowledge presents new background information to both policymakers and researchers on the main macroeconomic determinants using econometric analysis.

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