Public debt, foreign direct investment and economic growth dynamics

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 769-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olugbenga Onafowora ◽  
Oluwole Owoye

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamic and long-run relationships among public debt, FDI and output growth in five individual Caribbean countries over the period 1975–2015. Design/methodology/approach Zivot and Andrews (1992) unit root test with structural break is used to examine the stationarity of the variables and then the autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing procedure is used to ascertain existence of cointegration among them. Finally, order-invariant generalized forecast error variance decomposition (GFEVD) is used to establish the strength of the causal relationship between the examined variables. Findings The results confirm that the examined variables are cointegrated. FDI, domestic investment, trade openness, human capital (HC) and institutional quality were found to have significantly positive effects on economic growth, while higher public debt and inflation rates hampered growth. GFEVD revealed unidirectional Granger causality running from FDI to economic growth in two countries; unidirectional causality from growth to FDI in two other countries; and bidirectional causality between growth and FDI in one other country. The results also indicate one-way causality from output growth to public debt in three countries and bidirectional causality between these two variables in two other countries. Practical implications The implication is that the Caribbean Governments may need to adopt effective debt management as a major policy and intensify efforts at utilizing loans obtained judiciously for human and capital projects that have direct positive net present value but, to secure strong and inclusive growth, these strategies must be linked to policies that enhance macroeconomic stability and the quality of their institutions, encourage capital inflows and domestic investments vis-à-vis domestic savings, and increase HC and trade earnings. Originality/value In contrast to extant studies of the public debt–FDI–output growth nexus, this study controls for the possibility of structural breaks in unit root tests along with performing bounds test for cointegration, variance decomposition analysis, Granger causality tests, and CUSUM and CUSUMSQ tests for the stability of the dynamic output growth model. This is a unique contribution to the existing literature, and highlights the originality value of this paper.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Kris Hilton

Purpose Considering the continuous rise in the public debt stock of developing countries (particularly Ghana) with the unstable economic growth rate for the past decades and the recent borrowing because of the impact of COVID 19, this paper aims to examine the causal relationships between public debt and economic growth over time. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a dynamic multivariate autoregressive-distributed lag (ARDL)-based Granger-causality model to test the causal relationships between public debt and economic growth [gross domestic product (GDP)]. Annual time-series data that spanned 1978–2018 were sourced from the World Bank Development Indicator database and the IMF fiscal Affairs Department Database and WEO. Findings The results reveal that public debt has no causal relationship with GDP in the short-run but there is unidirectional Granger causality running from public debt to GDP in the long run. Again, investment spending has a negative bi-directional causal relationship with GDP in the short-run but they have a positive bi-directional causal relationship in the long run. Conversely, no short-run causal relationship exists between government consumption expenditure and GDP but long-run Granger causality runs from government consumption expenditure to GDP. Finally, public debt has a positive impact on the inflation rate in the short run. Practical implications The findings imply that government(s) must ensure high fiscal discipline to serve as a precursor for the effective and efficient use of recent borrowing, that is, the loans should be used for highly prioritized projects (preferably investment spending) that are well evaluated and self-sustained to add positively to the GDP. Originality/value This paper provides contemporary findings to augment extant literature on public debt and economic growth by using variables and empirical models, which prior studies could not sufficiently cover in a developing country perspective and affirms that public debt contributes to GDP only in the long run.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siphe-okuhle Fakudze ◽  
Asrat Tsegaye ◽  
Kin Sibanda

PurposeThe paper examined the relationship between financial development and economic growth for the period 1996 to 2018 in Eswatini.Design/methodology/approachThe Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds test (ARDL) was employed to determine the long-run and short-run dynamics of the link between the variables of interest. The Granger causality test was also performed to establish the direction of causality between financial development and economic growth.FindingsThe ARDL results revealed that there is a long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth. The Granger causality test revealed bidirectional causality between money supply and economic growth, and unidirectional causality running from economic growth to financial development. The results highlight that economic growth exerts a positive and significant influence on financial development, validating the demand following hypothesis in Eswatini.Practical implicationsPolicymakers should formulate policies that aims to engineer more economic growth. The policies should strike a balance between deploying funds necessary to stimulate investment and enhancing productivity in order to enliven economic growth in Eswatini.Originality/valueThe study investigates the finance-growth linkage using time series analysis. It determines the long-run and short-run dynamics of this relationship and examines the Granger causality outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 27-31
Author(s):  
I. V. SUGAROVA ◽  
◽  
N. V. TADTAEVA ◽  

In the modern world economy, most countries lack the financial resources to fully perform their duties and functions to their citizens. The consequence of the increase in borrowing by countries is the growth of public debt. Its management is becoming one of the most acute problems in the current conditions. The article presents the main aspects of this problem, and suggests measures to stimulate the country's economic growth.


2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (4II) ◽  
pp. 599-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naeem Akram

Over the years Pakistan has failed to collect enough revenues for financing of its budget. Consequently, the problem of twin deficits emerged and to finance the developmental activities government has to rely on public external and domestic debt. The positive effects of public debt relate to the fact that in resource-starved economies debt financing if done properly leads to higher growth and adds to their capacity to service and repay public debt. The negative effects work through two main channels—i.e., ―Debt Overhang‖ and ―Crowding Out‖ effects. The present study examines the consequences of public debt for economic growth and investment in Pakistan for the period 1972-2009. It develops a hybrid model that explicitly incorporates the role of public debt in growth equations. As the some variables are I (1) and other are I (0) so Autoregressive Distributed Lag(ARDL) technique has been applied to estimate the model. Study finds that public external debt has negative relationship with per capita GDP and investment confirming the existence of ―Debt Overhang effect‖. However, due to insignificant relationships of debt servicing with investment and per capita GDP, the existence of the crowding out hypothesis could not be confirmed. Similarly, domestic debt has a negative relationship with investment and per capita GDP. In other words, it seems to have crowded out private investment. JEL classification: H63, O43, E22, C22 Keywords: Public Debt, Economic Growth, Investment, ARDL


2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naeem Akram

Purpose – Over the years most of the developing countries have failed to collect enough revenues to finance their budgets. As a result, they have to face the problem of twin deficits and to rely on external and domestic debt to finance their developmental activities. The positive effects of public debt relate to the fact that in resource-starved economies debt financing (if done properly) leads to higher growth and adds to their capacity to service and repay external and internal debt. The negative effects work through two main channels – i.e., “Debt Overhang” and “Crowding Out” effects. The purpose of this paper is to examine the consequences of public debt for economic growth and investment for the Philippines. Design/methodology/approach – The present study examines the consequences of public debt for economic growth and investment for the Philippines during the period 1975-2010, by using autoregressive distributed lag technique. Findings – The results reveal that in the Philippines, public external debt has negative and significant relationship with economic growth and investment confirming the existence of “Debt Overhang effect”. But due to insignificant relationships of debt servicing with investment and economic growth, the existence of the crowding out hypothesis could not be confirmed. The domestic debt has a negative relationship with investment and positive relationship with economic growth. Research limitations/implications – First and foremost implication of the study is that heavy reliance on external debt must be discouraged. Therefore, in order to accelerate economic growth, developing countries must adopt those policies that are likely to result in reducing their debt burden, and it must not be allowed to reach unsustainable level. In the case of domestic debt, the present study finds that investment is negatively affected by domestic debt due to the crowding out effect; yet real GDP has a positive relationship with domestic debt. Thus, if policy makers want to use domestic debt as a tool to stimulate real GDP then it must keep an eye on the consequences of domestic debt on the investment. Practical implications – First and foremost implication of the study is that heavy reliance on external debt must be discouraged. Therefore, in order to accelerate economic growth, the Philippines must adopt those policies that are likely to result in reducing their debt burden, and external debt it must not be allowed to reach unsustainable level. In the case of domestic debt, the present study finds that investment is negatively affected by domestic debt due to the crowding out effect; yet real GDP has a positive relationship with domestic debt. Thus, if policy makers want to use domestic debt as a tool to stimulate real GDP then it must keep an eye on the consequences of domestic debt for on the investment. Social implications – It also follows from the estimation results that population growth rate is harmful for the economic growth. So in order to stimulate the growth performance, it must adopt effective population control policies. Similarly, since openness and investment are growth enhancing so there is need for the trade and investment supportive policies. Originality/value – From the review of literature on the issue, it can be broadly summarized that most of the studies are on the relationship of external debt and economic growth, neglecting domestic debt entirely or mentioning it in the passing. Second, most of these studies have been conducted by using panel data. However, as the different countries vary in socio-economic conditions so it is better to conduct the country specific study. The present study is an attempt to fill these gaps in the existing literature.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 849-864
Author(s):  
Arash Hadizadeh

Purpose In the Iranian economy, investing in the housing market has been very important and beneficial for investors and households, because of inflationary environment, low real interest rates, underdeveloped financial and tax systems and economic sanctions. Hence, prediction of house prices is the main concern of housing market agents in the economy. The purpose of this paper is to test the stationary properties of Iran's provinces to improve the prediction of future housing prices. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors have tested the stationary properties of 20 Iran’s province centers over the period from 1993 to 2017 using a novel Fourier quantile unit root test and conventional ordinary/generalized least squares (O/GLS) linear unit root/stationary tests. Findings According to conventional O/GLS linear unit root/stationary tests, most of the house prices series exhibit random walk behavior, whereas by applying the Fourier quantile unit root test, the null hypothesis of unit root is rejected for 15 out of 20 series. Other results indicated that house prices of cities responded differently to positive and negative shocks. Originality/value Previous studies only addressed conventional OLS or GLS linear unit root or stationary tests, but novel Fourier quantile unit root test was not used. New results were obtained based on this unit root test, that, as a priori knowledge, will help benefiting from the positive effects, or avoiding being victimized by the negative effects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaping Liu ◽  
Tafazal Kumail ◽  
Wajahat Ali ◽  
Farah Sadiq

Purpose The present study aims to investigate the dynamic relationship between international tourist receipts, economic growth, energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Pakistan over the period 1980-2016. Many researchers have investigated the link between tourism and CO2 emissions, but there is no clear picture as the results are contradictory. This study is an attempt to compliment the literature related to tourism and environmental quality. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted the autoregressive distributed lagged (ARDL) model to investigate the short- and long-run estimates simultaneously. The study further applied Granger causality to find out the direction of causalities. To arrive at long-run robust estimates, the study used dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) model. Findings The results found that tourist receipts have no significant impact on environmental quality, while growth and energy consumption are the main determinants of CO2 emissions in Pakistan. The Granger causality test confirmed unidirectional causalities from GDP and energy consumption toward CO2 emissions, while tourist receipts do not affect environmental quality. DOLS technique confirmed the long-run estimates of ARDL model. Research limitations/implications The result of the study complements the literature by adding new evidence regarding the nexus of tourism and environment. Findings of the study are important for policymakers and regulatory bodies to place their focus on the development of tourism sector (services sector) rather than energy-intensive manufacturing activities to sustain the growth of the country in higher quartiles, as tourism receipts have no significant negative externalities toward environment, while energy use is one of the key determinants of environmental degradation. Originality/value This study used time series data over the period 1980-2016 for Pakistan to inspect the dynamic relationship between tourist receipts, economic growth, energy consumption and CO2 emissions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisca Rosendo Silva ◽  
Marta Simões ◽  
João Sousa Andrade

Purpose This study aims to analyse the relationship between health human capital and economic growth for a maximum sample of 92 countries over the period 1980-2010 taking into account countries’ heterogeneity by assessing how health variables affect different countries according to their position on the conditional growth distribution. Design/methodology/approach The paper estimates a growth regression applying the methodology proposed by Canay (2011) for regression by quantiles (Koenker, 1978, 2004, 2012a, 2012b) in a panel framework. Quantile regression analysis allows us to identify the growth determinants that present a non-linear relationship with growth and determine the policy implications specifically for underperforming versus over achieving countries in terms of output growth. Findings The authors’ findings indicate that better health is positively and robustly related to growth at all quantiles, but the quantitative importance of the respective coefficients differs across quantiles, in some cases, with the sign of the relationship greater for countries that recorded lower growth rates. These results apply to both positive (life expectancy) and negative (infant mortality rate, undernourishment) health status indicators. Practical implications Given the predominantly public nature of health funding, cuts in health expenditure should be carefully balanced even in times of public finances sustainability problems, particularly when growth slowdowns, as a decrease in the stock of health human capital could be particularly harmful for growth in under achievers. Additionally, the most effective interventions seem to be those affecting early childhood development that should receive from policymakers the necessary attention and resources. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature by answering the question of whether the growth effects of health human capital can differ in sign and/or magnitude depending on a country’s growth performance. The findings may help policymakers to design the most adequate growth promoting policies according to the behaviour of output growth.


2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 634-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vichet Sum

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamic effect of Tobin's q ratio on price-to-earnings (PE) ratio. Design/methodology/approach – The objective of this study is to investigate the dynamic effect of Tobin's q on PE ratio. To achieve this objective, a vector autoregressive analysis (Equation (1)) is employed to analyze the quarterly data from 1951Q4 to 2012Q4 to determine the generalized impulse response functions and perform the variance decomposition of Tobin's q ratio on PE ratio. The Granger causality Wald test is performed to determine if Tobin's q ratio causes PE ratio and vice versa. Findings – Based on the analysis of the quarterly market-level data from 1951Q4 to 2012Q4, the results show that PE ratio significantly drops immediately following the shock to the change in Tobin's q ratio. The results from the Granger-causality test indicate that Tobin's q ratio change causes PE ratio to drop. There is not a reverse causation from PE ratio to Tobin's q ratio change. The variance decomposition results reveal that Tobin's q ratio change forecasts about 67.53 to 67.78 percent of PE ratio at the two-quarter to eight-quarter horizons. Originality/value – Up to this point, there is not a single study in the literature investigating the relationship between Tobin's q and PE ratios. Consequently, the current study is set up to investigate the dynamic effect of Tobin's q ratio on PE ratio. A major contribution of this study is to provide empirical evidence of the dynamic effect of Tobin's q ratio on PE ratio.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 462-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Temitope Lydia A. Leshoro

Purpose The commonly adopted view of the relationship between government spending and economic growth follows the Keynesian approach, in which government spending is considered to determine economic growth. However, there is another theory, which suggests that economic growth in fact determines government spending. This is Wagner’s hypothesis. The purpose of this paper is to investigate which of the two approaches applies to South Africa, and further observes the level of non-linearity between the two variables. Design/methodology/approach This study was carried out using quarterly time series data from 1980Q1 to 2015Q1. Granger causality technique was used to observe the direction of causality between the two variables, while regression error specification test (RESET) was employed to determine whether the variables exhibit linear or non-linear behaviour. This was followed by observing the threshold band, using two techniques, namely, sample splitting threshold regression and quadratic generalised method of moments. Findings The causality result shows that South Africa follows Wagner’s law, whereby government spending is determined by economic growth, supporting Odhiambo (2015). The RESET result shows that the variables depict a non-linear relationship, thus the government spending economic growth model is non-linear. It was found that if positive economic development is to be achieved, economic growth should preferably be kept within the −1.69 and 3.0 per cent band, and specifically above 1 per cent band. Originality/value The unique contribution of this study is that no previous study has attempted the non-linear government spending-economic growth nexus whether within the Keynesian or Wagner law for South Africa.


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