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Effect of Infrastructure and Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • Edward Nketiah-Amponsah
  • Bernard Sarpong

Abstract

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.

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  • Edward Nketiah-Amponsah & Bernard Sarpong, 2019. "Effect of Infrastructure and Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 11(3), pages 183-201, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:emeeco:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:183-201
    DOI: 10.1177/0974910119887242
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    Cited by:

    1. N.M. Odhiambo, 2022. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Spur Economic Growth? New Empirical Evidence from Sub-Saharan African Countries," Working Papers AESRI-2022-20, African Economic and Social Research Institute (AESRI), revised Jul 2022.
    2. Rahul Sarania, 2021. "Interactions among Infrastructure, Trade Openness, Foreign Direct Investments and Economic Growth in India," Journal of Infrastructure Development, India Development Foundation, vol. 13(1), pages 21-43, June.
    3. Kayode David Kolawole & Micheal Adebayo Ajayi & Abdulkareem Alhassan & Festus Victor Bekun & Gizem Uzuner, 2022. "Sustainable Energy Supply, Finance, and Domestic Investment Nexus in West Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-11, September.
    4. Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2022. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Spur Economic Growth? New Empirical Evidence From Sub-Saharan African Countries," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 67(233), pages 61-84, April – J.
    5. Faiez Ahmed Elneel, 2024. "Does Sudan’s Removal from State Sponsors of Terrorism Designation Affect Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)? “A Multivariate Analysis Combining VECM and ARDL Analysis” (1974–2019)," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 7873-7900, June.
    6. Chen, Hong & Gangopadhyay, Partha & Singh, Baljeet & Chen, Kairan, 2023. "What motivates Chinese multinational firms to invest in Asia? Poor institutions versus rich infrastructures of a host country," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    7. Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2022. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Spur Economic Growth? New Empirical Evidence From Sub-Saharan African Countries," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 67(233), pages 61-84, April – J.
    8. Muhammad Imran & Abdul Rashid, 2023. "The Empirical Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Episodes," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 15(3), pages 409-435, September.

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