IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jitecd/v22y2013i7p1038-1058.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Remittances, investment and growth in sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Emmanuel K.K. Lartey

Abstract

Several studies have examined the impact of remittances on economic growth, yet the results remain largely inconclusive. I present an analysis of the relationship between remittances and per capita growth, and investigate whether the impact of remittances on growth is through capital accumulation or other mechanisms. Using data for sub-Saharan African countries and dynamic empirical models, I find that there is a positive relationship between remittances and growth, as well as a positive interaction effect between remittances and financial depth on growth. The findings also reveal threshold values for two main indicators of financial development, above which the total effect of remittances on growth is positive. The results further provide evidence for the existence of an investment channel through which remittances affect growth, and indirect evidence that remittances contribute towards a stable macroeconomic environment, and hence, growth, through a consumption smoothing effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Emmanuel K.K. Lartey, 2013. "Remittances, investment and growth in sub-Saharan Africa," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(7), pages 1038-1058, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jitecd:v:22:y:2013:i:7:p:1038-1058
    DOI: 10.1080/09638199.2011.632692
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/09638199.2011.632692
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/09638199.2011.632692?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. Stephen Bond & Anke Hoeffler & Jonathan Temple, 2001. "GMM Estimation of Empirical Growth Models," Economics Papers 2001-W21, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    2. Christopher P. Ball & Claude Lopez & Javier Reyes, 2013. "Remittances, Inflation and Exchange Rate Regimes in Small Open Economies," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 487-507, April.
    3. Stephen Bond & Anke Hoeffler, 2001. "GMM Estimation of Empirical Growth Models," Economics Series Working Papers 2001-W21, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Ms. Dalia S Hakura & Mr. Ralph Chami & Mr. Peter J Montiel, 2009. "Remittances: An Automatic Output Stabilizer?," IMF Working Papers 2009/091, International Monetary Fund.
    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. Taiwo, Kayode, 2020. "Do remittances spur economic growth in Africa?," MPRA Paper 121947, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2021.
    2. Ilham Haouas & Naceur Kheraief & Arusha Cooray & Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad, 2019. "Time-Varying Casual Nexuses Between Remittances and Financial Development in Some MENA Countries," Working Papers 1294, Economic Research Forum, revised 2019.
    3. Inoue, Takeshi, 2018. "Financial development, remittances, and poverty reduction: Empirical evidence from a macroeconomic viewpoint," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 59-68.
    4. Anupam Das & Murshed Chowdhury, 2019. "Macroeconomic impacts of remittances in Bangladesh: The role of reverse flows," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 48(3), November.
    5. Bettin, Giulia & Massidda, Carla & Piras, Romano, 2024. "The intertwined role of social and financial remittances in new firms' creation," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    6. Le Thanh Tung, 2018. "The Impact Of Remittances On Domestic Investment In Developing Countries: Fresh Evidence From The Asia-Pacific Region," Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, vol. 9(2).
    7. Gnimassoun, Blaise, 2015. "The importance of the exchange rate regime in limiting current account imbalances in sub-Saharan African countries," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 36-74.
    8. Cazachevici, Alina & Havranek, Tomas & Horvath, Roman, 2019. "Remittances and Economic Growth: A Quantitative Survey," EconStor Preprints 205812, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    9. Burcak Polat, 2019. "The Impact of Workers' Remittances on Economic Growth: Panel Data Approach for Selected Country Group," Applied Economics and Finance, Redfame publishing, vol. 6(1), pages 45-52, January.
    10. Ranjan Kumar Dash, 2023. "Do Remittances Crowd-In or Crowd-Out Domestic Investment? An Empirical Analysis of 24 Low-Income Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(2), pages 1177-1193, June.
    11. Coulibaly, Dramane, 2015. "Remittances and financial development in Sub-Saharan African countries: A system approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 249-258.
    12. Yosra Saidi, 2024. "Remittances and growth in Africa: Does financial development and institutional quality matter?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 44(1), pages 163-172.
    13. Emmanuel K. K. Lartey, 2017. "Exchange Rate Flexibility and the Effect of Remittances on Economic Growth," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 103-125, February.
    14. Blaise Gnimassoun, 2014. "The importance of the exchange rate regime in limiting current account imbalances in sub-Saharan African countries," Working Papers hal-04141342, HAL.
    15. Cazachevici, Alina & Havranek, Tomas & Horvath, Roman, 2020. "Remittances and economic growth: A meta-analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    16. Timo Baas & Silvia Maja Melzer, 2012. "The Macroeconomic Impact of Remittances: A sending country perspective," Norface Discussion Paper Series 2012021, Norface Research Programme on Migration, Department of Economics, University College London.
    17. Valentina VASILE & Daniel ŞTEFAN & Călin-Adrian COMES & Elena BUNDUCHI & Anamari-Beatrice ŞTEFAN, 2020. "FDI or Remittances for Sustainable External Financial Inflows. Theoretical Delimitations and Practical Evidence using Granger Causality," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(4), pages 131-153, December.
    18. Moukpè Gniniguè & Essossinam Ali, 2022. "Migrant Remittances and Economic Growth in ECOWAS Countries: Does Digitalization Matter?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(5), pages 2517-2542, October.
    19. Md. Qamruzzaman (a) and Wei Jianguo (b), 2020. "Nexus between Remittance and Household Consumption: Fresh Evidence from Symmetric or Asymmetric Investigation," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 45(3), pages 1-27, September.
    20. Ibrahim A. Adekunle & Sheriffdeen A. Tella, 2021. "Remittances and the Future of African Economies," Research Africa Network Working Papers 21/053, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    21. Njangang, Henri, 2018. "Does the size of the informal economy impede the impact of remittances on economic growth? Evidence from Sub-Saharan African countries," MPRA Paper 90187, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Emmanuel K.K. Lartey, 2016. "The Cyclicality Of Remittances In Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 41(1), pages 1-18, March.
    23. Adams, Samuel & Klobodu, Edem Kwame Mensah, 2016. "Remittances, regime durability and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-8.
    24. Bang, James T. & Mitra, Aniruddha & Wunnava, Phanindra V., 2016. "Do remittances improve income inequality? An instrumental variable quantile analysis of the Kenyan case," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 394-402.

    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. Ziesemer, Thomas H.W., 2010. "The impact of the credit crisis on poor developing countries: Growth, worker remittances, accumulation and migration," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1230-1245, September.
    2. Dimitar Eftimoski, 2020. "Some new insights on economic convergence and growth in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 47(4), pages 863-884, November.
    3. Anwar, Sajid & Cooray, Arusha, 2015. "Financial flows and per capita income in developing countries," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 304-314.
    4. Emmanuel K. K. Lartey, 2017. "Exchange Rate Flexibility and the Effect of Remittances on Economic Growth," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 103-125, February.
    5. Eicher, Theo S. & Schreiber, Till, 2010. "Structural policies and growth: Time series evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 169-179, January.
    6. Kieran McQuinn & Karl Whelan, 2007. "Solow ( 1956 ) as a model of cross-country growth dynamics," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 23(1), pages 45-62, Spring.
    7. Simplice A. Asongu & Joseph I. Uduji & Elda N. Okolo‐Obasi, 2020. "Drivers and Persistence of Death in Conflicts: Global Evidence," World Affairs, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 183(4), pages 389-429, December.
    8. Xiaowen Xie, 2023. "Analyzing the Impact of Digital Inclusive Finance on Poverty Reduction: A Study Based on System GMM in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    9. Carranza, Luis J. & Cayo, Juan M. & Galdon-Sanchez, Jose E., 2003. "Exchange rate volatility and economic performance in Peru: a firm level analysis," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 472-496, December.
    10. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2019. "Governance, capital flight and industrialisation in Africa," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 8(1), pages 1-22, December.
    11. Ying Xu, 2009. "How does financial system efficiency affect the growth impact of FDI in China?," Asia Pacific Economic Papers 383, Australia-Japan Research Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    12. Gregorio Giménez Esteban, 2007. "Violence and Growth in Latin America," Economic Analysis Working Papers (2002-2010). Atlantic Review of Economics (2011-2016), Colexio de Economistas de A Coruña, Spain and Fundación Una Galicia Moderna, vol. 6, pages 1-34, July.
    13. Fernando Mayoral & Carlos Garcimartín, 2013. "The impact of population on the reduction of steady-state disparities across Spanish regions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 50(1), pages 49-69, February.
    14. Zheng, Xinye & Li, Fanghua & Song, Shunfeng & Yu, Yihua, 2013. "Central government's infrastructure investment across Chinese regions: A dynamic spatial panel data approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 264-276.
    15. Martin Andersson & Hans Lööf, 2009. "Learning‐by‐Exporting Revisited: The Role of Intensity and Persistence," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 111(4), pages 893-916, December.
    16. Alfò, Marco & Carbonari, Lorenzo & Trovato, Giovanni, 2023. "On the effects of taxation on growth: an empirical assessment," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(5), pages 1289-1318, July.
    17. Carlos Morales, 2011. "Variedades de recursos naturales y crecimiento económico," Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad, Universidad de los Andes,Facultad de Economía, CEDE, December.
    18. Simplice A. Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu, 2018. "Increasing Foreign Aid for Inclusive Human Development in Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(2), pages 443-466, July.
    19. Dalgaard, Carl-Johan & Erickson, Lennart, 2009. "Reasonable Expectations and the First Millennium Development Goal: How Much Can Aid Achieve?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 1170-1181, July.
    20. Bobba, Matteo & Coviello, Decio, 2007. "Weak instruments and weak identification, in estimating the effects of education, on democracy," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 301-306, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:jitecd:v:22:y:2013:i:7:p:1038-1058. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RJTE20 .

    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.