IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ijoeps/v15y2021i2d10.1007_s42495-021-00061-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Relative role of external debt, FDI, and domestic investment in economic growth: evidence from Sri Lanka

Author

Listed:
  • Biswajit Maitra

    (University of Gour Banga)

Abstract

External financial capital is inevitable for economic growth and the development of developing countries. In the case of Sri Lanka, some recent studies prove that the growing accumulation of external debt is detrimental to growth. Besides, the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) is not enough and limited to a few sectors of the economy. The accumulation of domestic capital is sluggish. Under this backdrop, this paper explores the relative role of external debt, FDI, and domestic investment in association with some control variables like financial development, trade openness, human capital investment impacting post-reform income growth in Sri Lanka. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration finds the long-run associations of income with different combinations of debt, FDI, domestic investment, and selective control variables. The error correction representations of the ARDL models prove that the external debt and FDI are not beneficial to augment growth, rather have a detrimental impact. On the other hand, domestic investment spurs short-run and long-run income growth. Also, the negative impact of trade openness and a positive impact of human capital investment are found. The paper concludes that more reliance on the external financial capital would not congenial for the economic progress of Sri Lanka.

Suggested Citation

  • Biswajit Maitra, 2021. "Relative role of external debt, FDI, and domestic investment in economic growth: evidence from Sri Lanka," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 329-347, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijoeps:v:15:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s42495-021-00061-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s42495-021-00061-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s42495-021-00061-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s42495-021-00061-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jong Il Choe, 2003. "Do Foreign Direct Investment and Gross Domestic Investment Promote Economic Growth?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(1), pages 44-57, February.
    2. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff & Miguel A. Savastano, 2003. "Debt Intolerance," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 34(1), pages 1-74.
    3. Luiz R. de Mello Jr., 1997. "Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries: A Selective Survey," Studies in Economics 9701, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    4. de Mello, Luiz R, Jr, 1999. "Foreign Direct Investment-Led Growth: Evidence from Time Series and Panel Data," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 133-151, January.
    5. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 2022. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 6, pages 139-152, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Balamurali, N. & Bogahawatte, C., 2004. "Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in Sri Lanka," Sri Lankan Journal of Agricultural Economics, Sri Lanka Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA), vol. 6, pages 1-15.
    7. Mr. Andrea Pescatori & Mr. Damiano Sandri & John Simon, 2014. "Debt and Growth: Is There a Magic Threshold?," IMF Working Papers 2014/034, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Jorge Bermejo Carbonell & Richard A. Werner, 2018. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Generate Economic Growth? A New Empirical Approach Applied to Spain," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 94(4), pages 425-456, August.
    9. Balázs Égert, 2015. "Public debt, economic growth and nonlinear effects: Myth or reality?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 226-238.
    10. Prema-chandra Athukorala, 2012. "Sri Lanka’s Trade Policy: Reverting to Dirigisme?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(12), pages 1662-1686, December.
    11. Borensztein, E. & De Gregorio, J. & Lee, J-W., 1998. "How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth?1," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 115-135, June.
    12. K. Ravinthirakumaran & E.A. Selvanathan & S. Selvanathan & T. Singh, 2015. "Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Sri Lanka," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 16(2), pages 233-256, September.
    13. Robert Lensink & Oliver Morrissey, 2006. "Foreign Direct Investment: Flows, Volatility, and the Impact on Growth," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 478-493, August.
    14. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2010. "Growth in a Time of Debt," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 573-578, May.
    15. W. W. Rostow, 1959. "The Stages Of Economic Growth," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, August.
    16. Md Reza Sultanuzzaman & Hongzhong Fan & Mahamud Akash & Banban Wang & Uddin Sarker Md Shakij, 2018. "The role of FDI inflows and export on economic growth in Sri Lanka: An ARDL approach," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1518116-151, January.
    17. Carmen M. Reinhart & Vincent R. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2012. "Public Debt Overhangs: Advanced-Economy Episodes since 1800," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(3), pages 69-86, Summer.
    18. Miao Wang, 2010. "Foreign direct investment and domestic investment in the host country: evidence from panel study," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(29), pages 3711-3721.
    19. Chee-Keong Choong & Kian-Ping Lim, 2009. "Foreign direct investment, financial development, and economic growth: the case of Malaysia," Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 13-30.
    20. N. Gregory Mankiw & David Romer & David N. Weil, 1992. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(2), pages 407-437.
    21. Athambawa Jahfer & Tohru Inoue, 2014. "Financial development, foreign direct investment and economic growth in Sri Lanka," International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1), pages 77-93.
    22. Naeem AKRAM*, 2017. "Role of Public Debt in Economic Growth of Sri Lanka: An ARDL Approach," Pakistan Journal of Applied Economics, Applied Economics Research Centre, vol. 27(2), pages 189-212.
    23. Krugman, Paul, 1988. "Financing vs. forgiving a debt overhang," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 253-268, November.
    24. Andrea F Presbitero, 2012. "Total Public Debt and Growth in Developing Countries," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 24(4), pages 606-626, September.
    25. V. N. Balasubramanyam & M. Salisu & David Sapsford, 1999. "Foreign direct investment as an engine of growth," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 27-40.
    26. Omri, Anis & kahouli, Bassem, 2014. "The nexus among foreign investment, domestic capital and economic growth: Empirical evidence from the MENA region," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 257-263.
    27. Niels Hermes & Robert Lensink, 2003. "Foreign direct investment, financial development and economic growth," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 142-163.
    28. Chee-Keong Choong, 2012. "Does domestic financial development enhance the linkages between foreign direct investment and economic growth?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 819-834, June.
    29. Karin Olofsdotter, 1998. "Foreign direct investment, country capabilities and economic growth," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 134(3), pages 534-547, September.
    30. K. M. Guei, 2019. "External Debt and Growth in Emerging Economies," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 236-251, April.
    31. Li, Xiaoying & Liu, Xiaming, 2005. "Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth: An Increasingly Endogenous Relationship," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 393-407, March.
    32. Griffin, Keith, 1970. "Foreign Capital, Domestic Savings and Economic Development," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 32(2), pages 99-112, May.
    33. Najid Ahmad & Mouna Hdia & Hong-Zhou Li & Jianlin Wang & Xian-Liang Tian, 2018. "Foreign Investment, Domestic Investment and Economic Growth in China: Does Foreign Investment Crowd in or Crowd out Domestic Investment?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(3), pages 1279-1291.
    34. Anwar, Sajid & Sun, Sizhong, 2011. "Financial development, foreign investment and economic growth in Malaysia," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 335-342, August.
    35. Maitra, Biswajit, 2019. "Macroeconomic impact of public debt and foreign aid in Sri Lanka," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 372-394.
    36. Adams, Samuel, 2009. "Foreign Direct investment, domestic investment, and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 939-949, November.
    37. Luiz de Mello, 1997. "Foreign direct investment in developing countries and growth: A selective survey," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 1-34.
    38. Kharusi, Sami Al & Ada, Mbah Stella, 2018. "External Debt and Economic Growth : The Case of Emerging Economy," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 33(1), pages 1141-1157.
    39. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-557 is not listed on IDEAS
    40. NPG Samantha & Liu Haiyun, 2017. "The Impact of FDI on the Economic Growth of Sri Lanka: An ARDL Approach to Co-integration," International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 3(5), pages 70-82, December.
    41. Ben-David, Dan & B. Loewy, Michael, 2003. "Trade and the Neoclassical Growth Model," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 18, pages 1-16.
    42. Hemantha Kumara & Nawalage S. Cooray, 2013. "Public Debt and Economic Growth in Sri Lanka: Is There Any Threshold Level for Pubic Debt?," Working Papers EMS_2013_22, Research Institute, International University of Japan.
    43. Weisskopf, Thomas E., 1972. "The impact of foreign capital inflow on domestic savings in underdeveloped countries," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 25-38, February.
    44. Ákos Dombi & István Dedák, 2019. "Public debt and economic growth: what do neoclassical growth models teach us?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(29), pages 3104-3121, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bakari, Sayef, 2022. "The Impact of Digitalization and Patent on Economic Growth in Romania," MPRA Paper 114259, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Suvra Prokash Mondal & Biswajit Maitra, 2021. "Assessing Growth Impact of Public Debt in Sri Lanka," Arthaniti: Journal of Economic Theory and Practice, , vol. 20(2), pages 201-226, December.
    2. Pravakar Sahoo & Ranjan Kumar Das, 2021. "Differential Growth Impact of FDI on LICs, LMICs, and ECs: The Role of Absorptive Capabilities," IEG Working Papers 447, Institute of Economic Growth.
    3. Iamsiraroj, Sasi, 2016. "The foreign direct investment–economic growth nexus," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 116-133.
    4. E. M. Ekanayake & John R. Ledgerwood, 2010. "How Does Foreign Direct Investment Affect Growth In Developing Countries? An Empirical Investigation," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 4(3), pages 43-53.
    5. Sam Hobbs & Dimitrios Paparas & Mostafa E. AboElsoud, 2021. "Does Foreign Direct Investment and Trade Promote Economic Growth? Evidence from Albania," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, January.
    6. Mounir Belloumi & Atef Alshehry, 2018. "The Impacts of Domestic and Foreign Direct Investments on Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-17, March.
    7. Mohammad Sharif Karimi & Andrzej Cieslik, 2017. "Foreign Knowledge Spillovers and Total Factor Productivity Growth: Evidence from Four ASEAN Countries," Iranian Economic Review (IER), Faculty of Economics,University of Tehran.Tehran,Iran, vol. 21(2), pages 267-299, Spring.
    8. Vinish Kathuria, 2019. "Growth and Investment: Testing for the Relationship for South Asian Countries," Millennial Asia, , vol. 10(3), pages 337-371, December.
    9. Acaravci, Ali & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2012. "Foreign Direct Investment, Export and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from New EU Countries," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(2), pages 52-67, June.
    10. Johnson, Andreas, 2006. "The Effects of FDI Inflows on Host Country Economic Growth," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 58, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    11. Yao Yao & Ruhul Salim, 2020. "Crowds in or crowds out? The effect of foreign direct investment on domestic investment in Chinese cities," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(5), pages 2129-2154, May.
    12. Alaya MAROUANE & Dalila NICET-CHENAF & Eric ROUGIER, 2008. "The law of growth and attraction: an endogenous model of absorptive capacities, FDI and income for MENA countries," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2008-27, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    13. Chu, Amanda M.Y. & Lv, Zhihui & Wagner, Niklas F. & Wong, Wing-Keung, 2020. "Linear and nonlinear growth determinants: The case of Mongolia and its connection to China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    14. Alguacil, M. & Cuadros, A. & Orts, V., 2011. "Inward FDI and growth: The role of macroeconomic and institutional environment," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 481-496, May.
    15. Ausloos, Marcel & Eskandary, Ali & Kaur, Parmjit & Dhesi, Gurjeet, 2019. "Evidence for Gross Domestic Product growth time delay dependence over Foreign Direct Investment. A time-lag dependent correlation study," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 527(C).
    16. Samuel Adams & Edem Kwame Mensah Klobodu & Richmond Odartey Lamptey, 2017. "The Effects of Capital Flows on Economic Growth in Senegal," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 11(2), pages 121-142, May.
    17. M. Ayhan Kose & Eswar Prasad & Kenneth Rogoff & Shang-Jin Wei, 2009. "Financial Globalization: A Reappraisal," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 56(2), pages 143-197.
    18. Anis Omri & Amel Sassi-Tmar, 2015. "Linking FDI Inflows to Economic Growth in North African Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 6(1), pages 90-104, March.
    19. Gunby, Philip & Jin, Yinghua & Robert Reed, W., 2017. "Did FDI Really Cause Chinese Economic Growth? A Meta-Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 242-255.
    20. Shima'a Hanafy & Marcus Marktanner, 2015. "Sectoral FDI, Absorptive Capacity and Economic Growth — Empirical Evidence from Egyptian Governorates," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201537, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ijoeps:v:15:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s42495-021-00061-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.