Public investment and inclusive growth in Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1669-1691
Author(s):  
Opeoluwa Adeniyi Adeosun ◽  
Philip Akanni Olomola ◽  
Adebayo Adedokun ◽  
Olumide Steven Ayodele

PurposeThe increasing debate on the viability of broad-based productive employment in stimulating the participatory tendencies of growth makes it instructive to inquire how the African “Big Five” have fared in their quests to ensure growth inclusiveness through public investment-led fiscal policy.Design/methodology/approachTime varying structures and nonlinearities in the government investment series are captured through the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag, asymmetric impulse responses and variance decomposition estimation techniques.FindingsStudy findings show that positive investment shocks stimulate growth inclusiveness by enabling access to opportunities through job creation and productive employment for the populace; this result is evident for Morocco and Algeria. However, there is a non-negligible evidence that shocks due to decline in the government investment manifest in insufficient capital stocks and limited investment opportunities, impede access to opportunities by the populace, hinder labour employability and make growth less inclusive. Furthermore, all short-run findings corroborate long-run results regarding the reaction of inclusive growth to positive investment shocks with the exclusion of South Africa; which, unlike its long-run finding, shows that shocks due to increases in investment can foster growth inclusiveness. Also, in respect to short-run negative investment shocks, Nigeria is the only country that does not align its long-run findings.Practical implicationsThat public investment shocks make or mar inclusive growth effectiveness shows the need for appropriate fiscal policy consolidation and automatic stabilization guidelines to ensure buffers against shocks and to enhance government investment generation efficiency for a sustainable inclusive growth process that is more participatory in Africa.Originality/valueThis study is the first to accommodate possibilities of shocks in the inclusivity of growth analysis for the five biggest African economies which jointly account for over half of the recorded growth in the continent. As such, there is quantitative evidence that government investment is a potent determinant of growth inclusiveness and it is susceptible to structural changes and time variation of shocks.

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1203-1221
Author(s):  
Nguyen Tuan Anh ◽  
Christopher Gan ◽  
Dao Le Trang Anh

PurposeThis study investigates the short-run and long-run impacts of agricultural credit on Vietnam's agricultural GDP over the period 2004:Q4–2016:Q4, with the incorporation of agricultural labor, public investment and rainfall as important determinants of agricultural GDP.Design/methodology/approachThis study applies the indicator saturation (IS) break tests and the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test with structural breaks to examine the credit–agricultural performance nexus. The causal relationships among variables are explored through the Toda–Yamamoto Granger causality test.FindingsThe results indicate that agricultural credit positively influences agricultural GDP in both the short-run and long-run. A unidirectional causal relationship running from credit to agricultural GDP is confirmed. The results also discover the positive and significant effects of labor and rainfall on agricultural GDP in the long-run.Practical implicationsThe results imply that the government should focus on expanding agricultural credit as well as enhancing the efficiency of agricultural credit. Furthermore, formal credit institutions should be encouraged to work closely with farmers and agricultural enterprises to offer flexible lending periods and amounts to meet the real situation of agricultural production.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the credit–agricultural performance relationship at the macro-level in Vietnam. Based on the empirical results, the study provides crucial implications for policymakers to optimize the effectiveness of agricultural credit and enhance nationwide agricultural performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25
Author(s):  
Eslon Ngeendepi ◽  
Andrew Phiri

Our study examines the crowding-in/out effect of foreign direct investment and government expenditure on private domestic investment for 15 members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for the period 1991–2019. The study employed the panel Pool Mean Group (PMG)/ARDL technique in estimating the short-run and long-run cointegration relationships between FDI, government capital expenditure and domestic private investment and adds three more variables for control purposes (interest rate, GDP growth rate and trade openness). For the full sample, FDI crowds-in domestic investment whilst government crowds-out domestic investment. However, in performing a sensitivity analysis, in which the sample was segregated into low and high income economies, both FDI and government investment crowd-in domestic investment whilst government expenditure crowds-out domestic investment in lower income SADC countries with no effect of FDI on domestic investment. Policy implications are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sreenu Nenavath

Purpose This paper aims to show a long run and causal association between economic growth and transport infrastructure. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors use ARDL models through the period 1990 – 2020 to investigate the relationship between transport infrastructure and economic growth in India. Findings The infrastructure has a positive impact on economic growth in India for the long run. Moreover, Granger causality test demonstrates a unidirectional relationship between transport infrastructure to economic development. Stimulatingly, the paper highlights the effect of air infrastructure statistically insignificant on economic growth in the long and short-run period. Originality/value The original outcome from the study delivers an inclusive depiction of determinants of economic growth from transport infrastructure in India, and these findings will help the policymakers to frame policies to improve the transport infrastructure. Hence, it is proposed that the government of Indian should focus more to upsurge the transport infrastructure for higher economic development.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aiza Shabbir ◽  
Shazia kousar ◽  
Muhammad Zubair Alam

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the short-run and long-run relationship between economic variables and the unemployment rate in South Asian countries.Design/methodology/approachA panel Vector Error Correction (VECM) model is used to establish the long-run and the short-run relationship between unemployment rate and selected economic variables. Data were collected from WDI, WGI and FDSD for the year's 1994–2016.FindingsThe finding of the study showed a negative and significant relationship at the 5% level of significance among governance, internet users, mobile cellular subscriptions, fixed broadband subscriptions and human capital with an unemployment rate of South Asian economies. On the other hand, financial activity (credit) and population growth have a positive and significant relationship with the unemployment rate.Research limitations/implicationsIn the light of our findings clear that employment problems can only be created if the government does not put in place adequate measures to control the population and allocate resources equitably, giving a sense of belonging to all citizens. Therefore, to provide the controlled population with the necessary employment opportunities, it is necessary to allocate resources efficiently and to launch projects aimed at creating jobs.Practical implicationsTransparency or merit is the basis of good governance and the very first step to achieving the goal of good governance is to fight against corruption. It provides a complete justification for providing good quality management records, financial controlling and managerial systems.Originality/valueThe connections between governance and unemployment are complex and need to be studied in a detailed manner. There is the absence of literature that strongly interfaces good governance to unemployment; the fundamental work in this regard is Farid (2015). They locate a solid relationship between good governance and improving external debt situation by in Pakistan a time series analysis. But there is no research in the context of South Asian countries between governance and unemployment.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Gaston Tamba

Purpose This paper aims to examine the causal relationship between liquefied petroleum gas consumption and economic growth in Cameroon over the period from 1975 to 2016. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of this study is based on the unit root, cointegration and causality tests. Cointegration is performed with both Johansen and autoregressive distributed lag bounds approach, while causality is done with the Granger test based on the error correction model (ECM) and Toda-Yamamoto procedure. Findings The cointegration methods confirm the existence of a level relationship, whereas the causal tests of the ECM reveal the existence of a short-run unidirectional causal relationship ranging from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption to economic growth and a bidirectional causal relationship between long-term and high-causality variables. With the Toda-Yamamoto procedure, unidirectional causality is found to run from economic growth to liquefied petroleum gas consumption. Research limitations/implications These findings imply that an increase in liquefied petroleum gas consumption leads to an increase in economic growth. As a result, supporting energy efficiency policies that aim to reduce liquefied petroleum gas consumption is not an option for Cameroon. Given that LPG consumption shares are still low in Cameroon, the government ought, thus, to increase LPG subsidization, vulgarize and favor policies aimed at encouraging LPG consumption to increase LPG deposits nationwide. This would help increase LPG consumption and consequently could increase economic growth in Cameroon. Originality/value LPG is a fossil fuel and is the less GHG emitter and it is considered as a modern source of energy for cooking in Cameroon households. It scarcity calls on energy policymakers to question the influence LPG consumption could have on economic growth in the short- and long-run. Thus, this paper could contribute to solving the issue of deforestation in Cameroon, especially in the Sahel zone; through the substitution of firewood consumption by LPG consumption in households.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanmugam Muthu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the crowding-in or crowding-out relationship between public and private investment in India. Design/methodology/approach The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach is used to estimate the long run relationship between public and private investment using annual data from 1971-1972 to 2009-2010. Findings Based on the empirical findings, it is observed that aggregate public investment has a positive effect on private investment both in the long run and the short run. In contrast to the findings of previous studies, no significant impact of public infrastructure investment on private investments is found in the long run, while non-infrastructure investment has a positive impact on private investment in the short run. Among the various categories of infrastructure sector, a positive and significant impact in the case of electricity, gas and water supply is observed. Similarly, the result indicates that public investment in machinery and equipment and construction have substantially influenced the private sector machinery and equipment in the long run and the short run. In the case of the role of macroeconomic uncertainty, the results find a negative and significant impact on private investment and the impact is higher in the short run than in the long run. Originality/value The present study extends the literature in three important ways: First, the study attempts to capture heterogeneity of public investment as well as disaggregate effects of two different categories of public infrastructure on private investment. The extent to which two different types of public assets impact the private investment in machinery and equipment investment is also examined. Second, ARDL model is used to examine the long-run relationship between public and private investment. Third, the study incorporates macroeconomic uncertainty into the empirical analysis to examine the role of macroeconomic volatility in determining private investment decision.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwatosin Adeniyi ◽  
Patricia Iyore Ajayi ◽  
Abdulfatai Adekunle Adedeji

PurposeMany West African countries face the challenge of growth inclusiveness. The region is also facing challenges of equipping its teeming population with high-quality skills despite many reforms and initiatives introduced in the past. This study, thus, identifies education as a crucial contributory factor to growth inclusiveness in the region. It, therefore, examined the role of education in growth inclusiveness in West Africa between 1990 and 2017.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilised different proxies to capture quantity and quality dimensions of education. The unit root and ARDL “Bounds” tests were employed at a preliminary stage. Based on the preliminary tests, the study explored autoregressive distributed lags modelling technique to capture the short-run and long-run dynamic effects.FindingsThe empirical results reveal a positive impact of school enrolment measures in most of the countries in both short-run and long-run. Education quality measure exerts positive impact and significant in few countries under consideration.Practical implicationsThese countries should give adequate attention to quality when designing education policy to foster their inclusive growth.Originality/valueThis study highlights the critical role of education in the inclusive growth pursuit. Education quantity is important to growth inclusiveness but the quality of education is more fundamental. The quality of education possessed determine to a large extent, what individual can contribute to the productive activities within the economy and accessibility to benefits from economic prosperity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 976-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanos Papadamou ◽  
Eleftherios Spyromitros ◽  
Panagiotis Tsintzos

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate, both theoretically and empirically, the institutional setting of monetary policy making that mitigates the effects of productive public investment on inflation persistence. Design/methodology/approach In the theoretical approach, the authors consider a simple monetary game model à la Barro-Gordon introducing, apart from stochastic output shocks, indexed wage contracts and public investment effects. Then, the authors empirically produce inflation persistence and public investment persistence by estimating a first-order autoregressive model in a fixed rolling window of 36 months for the UK and also use a dummy in order to incorporate the regime switch in monetary policy since 1997, giving a clear increase in the level of central bank independence. Findings The theoretical framework suggests that an independent central banker could better manage inflation expectations and therefore inflation persistence despite the occurrence of persistent public investment shocks. From the perspective of fiscal policy, the appointment of a conservative and independent central banker could absorb adverse effects on inflation dynamics resulting from persistent expansionary fiscal policies. Empirical evidence in the UK indicates that the creation of an independent monetary policy committee reduces the positive link between public investment and inflation persistence. Practical implications From a monetary policy perspective view, the best response to public investment policies is to increase the degree of independence to alleviate effects on inflation dynamics. From the perspective of fiscal policy, an independent central banker can provide the necessary conditions to undertake a long-run public investment plan, since long-run growth will not be undermined by adverse inflation inertia. Originality/value The authors introduce, in the debate of inflation persistence, both theoretically and empirically, the role of public investment and monetary policy design.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naser Yenus Nuru ◽  
Hayelom Yrgaw Gereziher

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to investigate the short-run and long-run asymmetric effects of fiscal policy, namely government spending on economic growth over the sample period 2004Q2 up to 2018Q1 for the South African economy.Design/methodology/approachNonlinear autoregressive distributive lag model is used to examine the short-run and long-run asymmetric effects of government spending on economic growth.FindingsThe results exhibit the negative change effect of government spending is found to be greater than the positive change effect of government spending on economic growth. Real effective exchange rate is found to have a positive and significant effect on economic growth both in the short run and long run. Whereas, inflation rate affects economic growth negatively and significantly in the short run and long run.Originality/valuePrevious empirical studies on the effect of fiscal policy on growth, at least for South Africa, consider only the asymmetric short-run effect while this paper extends the literature by incorporating asymmetries into the long-run effect. It provides a detailed analysis to the recent controversies on the effects of fiscal policy on growth.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umbreen Zahra ◽  
◽  
Hajra Ihsan

This study empirically investigates the relationship between public and private investment in Pakistan at the aggregate and sectoral level, including the sectors of Agriculture, Manufacturing, Finance, Construction, Transport & Communication and Mining & Quarrying. For this purpose, annual time series data is utilized from 1971 to 2019 except for the Agriculture sector covering the period of 1981-2019 as data for previous years is not available from any published sources. Multivariate co-integration approach and ECM are employed to empirically analyze the existence of long-run and short-run association among public and private investment. The results indicate a long run complementary type relationship of public investment with private investment at both the aggregate and sectoral level except for the Finance sector. The short-run analysis supports this long-run positive association at an aggregate level and four sectors, excluding Transport & Communication and Agriculture sector where the results were insignificant. Our results and generally declining share of public investment highlight that the government is playing its role as an “enabler” (or facilitator) of private investment in terms of association between public and private investment.


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