scholarly journals Analysis of Savings-Investment Gap in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does the nexus between Foreign Remittances and Domestic Financial Sector matter?

Author(s):  
Oluwatosin Adeniyi ◽  
Joshua Ogunjimi ◽  
Wasiu Adekunle ◽  
Musibau Babatunde ◽  
Edward Omiwale

Abstract In recent times, increasing attention is being paid to examine the developmental impact of remittances inflow, particularly due to the emergence of remittances as the fastest growing source of capital flows for developing countries. To this end, we contribute to the literature by analyzing the interactive effects of remittances and financial development on savings-investment gap for a panel of 18 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries over the period of 1990 to 2017. Our Panel ARDL model estimation showed that higher remittances have significant reducing effect on savings-investment gap in the long run, and this becomes magnified while accounting for individual and interactive effects of remittances and financial development. We also uncovered the widening effects of rising real GDP growth and bank deposits over a long-term horizon, whereas higher private sector credit widens the savings-investment gap only in the short-run. Meanwhile, liquid liabilities have no significant effect on savings-investment gap both in the short run and long run. We further offered evidence on the complementarity and substitutability effects of remittances and financial development over the short-term and long-term horizons, respectively. We also demonstrated the superior forecast accuracy of the predictive savings-investment gap model - that accounts for both individual and interactive effects - over other specifications, and this is robust to the choice of financial development indicators, samples and forecast horizons. Our results underscore the urgent need for a reduction of transfer costs, so as to encourage both migrant workers and their beneficiaries to make use of the official channels for sending and receiving remittances in the region.

Author(s):  
Husam Rjoub ◽  
Chuka Uzoma Ifediora ◽  
Jamiu Adetola Odugbesan ◽  
Benneth Chiemelie Iloka ◽  
João Xavier Rita ◽  
...  

Sub-Saharan African countries are known to be bedeviled with some challenges hindering the economic development. Meanwhile, some of these issues have not been exhaustively investigated in the context of the region. Thus, this study aimed at investigating the implications of government effectiveness, availability of natural resources, and security threats on the regions’ economic development. Yearly data, spanning from 2007 to 2020, was converted from low frequency (yearly) to high frequency (quarterly) and utilized. Data analysis was conducted using Dynamic heterogeneous panel level estimators (PMG and CS-ARDL). Findings show that while PMG estimator confirms a long-run causal effect of governance, natural resources, and security threats on economic development, only natural resources show a short-run causal effect with economic development, while the CS-ARDL (model 2) confirms the significance of all the variables both in the long and short-run. Moreover, the ECT coefficients for both models were found to be statistically significant at less than 1% significance level, which indicates that the systems return back to equilibrium in case of a shock that causes disequilibrium, and in addition, reveals a stable long-run cointegration among the variables in the model. Finally, this study suggests that the policy makers in SSA countries should place more emphasis on improving governance, managing security challenges, and effectively utilizing rents from the natural resources, as all these have severe implications for the economic development of the region if not addressed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 72-83
Author(s):  
Guivis Zeufack Nkemgha ◽  
Aimée Viviane Mbita ◽  
Symphorin Engone Mve ◽  
Rodrigue Tchoffo

This paper contributes to the understanding of the other neglected effects of trade openness by analysing how it affects life quality in sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2000–2016. We used two trade openness indicators, namely: Squalli and Wilson index and the rate of trade. The empirical evidence is based on a pooled mean group approach. With two panels differentiated by their colonial origin, the following findings are established: the trade openness variable measured by Squalli and Wilson index has no effect on life quality in the both groups of countries in the short-run. However, it has a positive and significant effect on life quality in the both group of countries in the long-run. The use of the rate of trade confirms the results in the both groups of countries in the long-run. The contribution of trade openness to life quality is 3.27 and 5.19 times higher in the Former British Colonies than that recorded in the Former French Colonies of SSA respectively to the use of Squalli and Wilson index and the rate of trade. Overall, we find strong evidence supporting the view that trade openness promotes life quality in SSA countries in the long run.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 273-284
Author(s):  
Jimoh S. Ogede

Abstract The study examines the impacts of entrepreneurship on income inequality in a panel of 29 Sub-Saharan African countries spanning from 2004 to 2020. The paper employs a dynamic heterogeneous panel approach to differentiate between long-run and short-run impacts of entrepreneurship on income inequality. The findings establish a robust and direct nexus between entrepreneurial activities and income disparity. The results of the two entrepreneurial indicators are stable. Besides, the coefficient of the human capital is positive in the regression and statistically significant at a 5 percent significance level. The proxies for macroeconomic factors exhibit diverse signs and impact, which suggest a policy stimulus aimed at refining macroeconomic situations and also ignite prospects for households to increase their incomes.


Author(s):  
Chukwunenye N Kocha ◽  
Marshal Iwedi ◽  
James Sarakiri

The increasing reliance on public external debt stocks in Africa and other developing countries has raised the question of debt sustainability, especially in the face of Covid-19, which has forced many counties (both developed and developing) into an unforeseen and unplanned recession. This study contributes to the literature on debt sustainability by examining the effect of public debt on capital formation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 2000 to 2008 using the pooled mean group estimation approach. The debt variables considered are external debt stock, debt service on external debt, and interest payment on external debt. Consistent with the overhang theory, our results show that increasing external debt stock and interest payment on external debts only have a marginal impact on capital formation in the short run and exerts a serious negative effect in the long run. Our results also show that debt service burden has a positive effect on gross fixed capital formation in the long run. Therefore, we argue that despite being faced with a huge debt service burden resulting from large external debt stock, SSA countries are not neglecting investments in critical infrastructures needed to drive economic growth. However, we recommend that increasing government revenue base, minimizing economic waste associated with public expenditure, and intensifying negotiations for debt relief may be a plausible way out.


2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songul Kakilli Acaravci ◽  
Ilhan Ozturk ◽  
Ali Acaravci

In this paper we review the literature on the finance-growth nexus and investigate the causality between financial development and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 1975-2005. Using panel co-integration and panel GMM estimation for causality, the results of the panel co-integration analysis provide evidence of no long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth. The empirical findings in the paper show a bi-directional causal relationship between the growth of real GDP per capita and the domestic credit provided by the banking sector for the panels of 24 Sub-Saharan African countries. The findings imply that African countries can accelerate their economic growth by improving their financial systems and vice versa.


2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 687-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICHARD S.J. TOL ◽  
KRISTIE L. EBI ◽  
GARY W. YOHE

We study the effects of development and climate change on infectious diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. Infant mortality and infectious disease are closely related, but there are better data for the former. In an international cross-section, per capita income, literacy, and absolute poverty significantly affect infant mortality. We use scenarios of these three determinants and of climate change to project the future incidence of malaria, assuming it to change proportionally to infant mortality. Malaria deaths will first increase, because of population growth and climate change, but then fall, because of development. This pattern is robust to the choice of scenario, parameters, and starting conditions; and it holds for diarrhoea, schistosomiasis, and dengue fever as well. However, the timing and level of the mortality peak is very sensitive to assumptions. Climate change is important in the medium term, but dominated in the long term by development. As climate can only be changed with a substantial delay, development is the preferred strategy to reduce infectious diseases even if they are exacerbated by climate change. Development can, in particular, support the needed strengthening of disease control programs in the short run and thereby increase the capacity to cope with projected increases in infectious diseases over the medium to long term. This conclusion must, however, be viewed with caution, because development, even of the sort envisioned in the underlying socio-economic scenarios, is by no means certain.


Author(s):  
Josiah Chukwuma Ngonadi ◽  
Sun Huaping ◽  
Joy Okere ◽  
John Uche Ngonadi

The study focused on the long-term related effect among energy consumption (EC), CO2 production and economy growth (EG) of 12 randomly selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We used validation and causality tests in the 2008-2018 annual record. Special effects vary from country to country, in the long term, strong consumption of energy and economy growth in many countries has been linked with an increment in air pollution. The observation of the longitudinal study showed economic growth resulting in short-term CO2 emissions in Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, reflecting a lack of economy. This would not be possible without affecting the environment. The effect between CO2 and EG in Gabon, Nigeria and Togo has shown that environmental policies aimed at reducing pollution can be harmful. economic growth. In addition, long-term economic and CO2 production in Nigeria has been closely linked to the long-term links to Congo and Gabon. In the long-run, greenhouse gas emissions are the result of EC, EG and CO2 emission in Benin, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Togo.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
MALAYARANJAN SAHOO ◽  
NARAYAN SETHI

This paper examines the relationship between human development, remittances and other macroeconomic variables like life expectancy, human capital, FDI, inflation, economic growth and financial development by considering 31 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries during the period of 1990–2018. Kao and Fisher residual cointegration tests are applied to check the cointegration among the variables in the long-run. We apply fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and DOLS to show the long-run elasticity of explanatory variables on dependent variable. The result indicates that remittances have a positive and statistically significant effects on human development in SSA region. Similarly, government expenditure, human capital, inflation and economic growth have positive effects on human development in the region. Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel granger causality tests were observed such that there is a unidirectional causality between remittance and human development in SSA countries. However, human development and inflation rate show bi-directional relationship with each other. This paper suggests that public policies can be conceived to promote health, education and income, thereby encouraging and enhancing human development. Policymakers should also rely on other macroeconomic factors, such as government spending and financial development, to stimulate human development in SSA region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nihar Ranjan Jena ◽  
Narayan Sethi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effectiveness of foreign aid in improving economic growth prospects in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region from 1993 to 2017. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 45 SSA countries for the period 1993–2017 is considered for this study. The study uses various econometrics tools such as Pedroni and Kao’s cointegration test, Johansen-Fisher Panel cointegration test, FMOLS and PDOLS in order to ascertain the long-run and short-run dynamics among the variables under consideration. Findings The empirical results find that long-run and short-run relationships exist among foreign aid, economic growth, investment, financial deepening, price stability and trade openness of the SSA economies. The authors also find unidirectional causality running from foreign aid to economic growth. The policymakers in these countries are well-advised to implement suitable policy measures to build on the growth momentum created by foreign aid inflows. Originality/value The study uses a dynamic macroeconomic modeling framework to assess the impact of aid flows on economic growth in the SSA region. Taking into account the diversity of level of growth experienced by the 45 countries in the region, the study uses an appropriate regression technique, i.e., panel dynamic OLS whose results are robust. The finding is also supported by the Granger-causality test and robust cointegration techniques.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002190962199085
Author(s):  
Huiping Dong ◽  
Yifei Cai ◽  
Xing Shi

This study aims to investigate whether globalisation promotes economic output in Sub-Saharan African countries in both the short run and the long run. Based on the latest version of the KOF globalisation index, we employ a newly developed bootstrap autoregressive distributed lag model to analyse this question. Compared to the traditional autoregressive distributed lag model, which ignores the degenerate cases, the new approach could avoid spurious cointegration. Results show that globalisation and economic output are positively correlated for most Sub-Saharan African countries, while the causal effect cannot be concluded except for a couple of exceptions. This finding implies that globalisation cannot guarantee an increase in economic output in the long run for most Sub-Saharan African countries. The Granger causality test shows that globalisation leads to economic output for Burundi, Gabon, Rwanda, Senegal and Zambia in the short run. Conversely, economic output leads to globalisation for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Senegal. For Senegal, globalisation and economic output mutually determine each other and therefore form a positive spiral development path. Policymakers should be aware of the specific features of different economies in making sound globalisation policies to avoid the underlying adverse effects of global integration.


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