IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/tei/journl/v11y2017i1p61-69.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effect of External Debt on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Bernardin Senadza

    (Department of Economics, University of Ghana, Ghana)

  • Agbemavor Korsi Fiagbe

    (Department of Economics, University of Cape Coast, Ghana)

  • Peter Quartey

    (Department of Economics, University of Namibia, Namibia)

Abstract

Purpose: This paper examines the effect of external debt on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in view of an upsurge in the level of external debt in many countries on the continent. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses annual data for 39 SSA countries from 1990 to 2013 and employs the System Generalised Methods of Moments (GMM) estimation technique. Findings: The paper finds that external debt negatively affects economic growth in SSA. Categorization of countries based on per capita income however does not affect the external debt-growth nexus, neither does there exist a non-linear relationship between external debt and economic growth. Research limitations/implications: The finding of a negative relationship between external debt and growth does not necessarily imply that SSA countries should cut back on foreign borrowing in other to boost growth. Rather, given the huge savings gaps in some of the countries, what governments in SSA must do is to ensure that the foreign loans are invested in projects that would eventually generate enough returns to amortize the debt. Originality/value: Not only does the present paper extend to more recent data but we also apply one of the frontier econometric techniques - the system GMM approach - to unravel the external debt-economic growth dynamics in SSA.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernardin Senadza & Agbemavor Korsi Fiagbe & Peter Quartey, 2017. "The Effect of External Debt on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 11(1), pages 61-69, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:tei:journl:v:11:y:2017:i:1:p:61-69
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ijbesar.teiemt.gr/docs/volume11_issue1/effect_external_debt.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://ijbesar.teiemt.gr/volume11_issue1.php
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ugo Panizza & Federico Sturzenegger & Jeromin Zettelmeyer, 2010. "International Government Debt," Business School Working Papers 2010-03, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella.
    2. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    3. Riccardo Faini & Jaime de Melo, 2015. "Adjustment, Investment and the Real Exchange Rate in Developing Countries," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Developing Countries in the World Economy, chapter 6, pages 137-165, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Jaejoon Woo & Manmohan S. Kumar, 2015. "Public Debt and Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82(328), pages 705-739, October.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Bert Hofman & Helmut Reisen, 1991. "Some evidence on debt-related determinants of investment and consumption in heavily indebted countries," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 127(2), pages 281-299, June.
    8. Cohen, Daniel, 1993. "Low Investment and Large LDC Debt in the 1980's," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(3), pages 437-449, June.
    9. repec:bla:kyklos:v:45:y:1992:i:3:p:363-78 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. World Bank, 2015. "World Development Indicators 2015," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 21634.
    11. David Roodman, 2006. "How to Do xtabond2," North American Stata Users' Group Meetings 2006 8, Stata Users Group.
    12. Andrew M. Warner, 1992. "Did the Debt Crisis Cause the Investment Crisis?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(4), pages 1161-1186.
    13. Catherine Pattillo & Hélène Poirson & Luca Antonio Ricci, 2011. "External Debt and Growth," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 2(3).
    14. Iyoha, M.A., 1999. "External Debt and Economic Growth in Sub-SAharan African Countries: an Econometric Study," Papers 90, African Economic Research Consortium.
    15. Jayaraman, T.K. & Lau, Evan, 2009. "Does external debt lead to economic growth in Pacific island countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 272-288.
    16. Maureen Were, 2001. "The Impact of External Debt on Economic Growth in Kenya: An Empirical Assessment," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2001-116, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    17. Eaton, Jonathan, 1993. "Sovereign Debt: A Primer," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 7(2), pages 137-172, May.
    18. Claessens, Stijn & Detragiache, Enrica & Kanbur, Ravi & Wickham, Peter, 1996. "Analytical aspects of the debt problems of heavily indebted poor countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1618, The World Bank.
    19. Caselli, Francesco & Esquivel, Gerardo & Lefort, Fernando, 1996. "Reopening the Convergence Debate: A New Look at Cross-Country Growth Empirics," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 363-389, September.
    20. Heiko Hesse, 2008. "Export Diversification and Economic Growth," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28040.
    21. Andreas Savvides, 1992. "Investment Slowdown in Developing Countries During the 1980s: Debt Overhang or Foreign Capital Inflows?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 363-378, August.
    22. Fosu, Augustin Kwasi, 1990. "Exports and economic growth: The African case," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 831-835, June.
    23. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    24. Fry, Maxwell J., 1989. "Foreign debt instability: an analysis of national saving and domestic investment responses to foreign debt accumulation in 28 developing countries," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 315-344, September.
    25. Borensztein, Eduardo, 1990. "Debt overhang, credit rationing and investment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 315-335, April.
    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. Agatha Nkem Amadi & Isaac Azubuike Ogbuji & Hope Agbonrofo, 2020. "The Maturity and Repayment Structure of Sovereign Debt: Implications for Development Agenda in Nigeria," Academic Journal of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Banking and Accountancy Bucharest,"Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University Bucharest, vol. 6(1), pages 115-120, March.
    2. Fisayo Fagbemi & Olufemi Solomon Olatunde, 2019. "Domestic Investment in Africa: Why the Emerging Public Debt Spiral Matters?," The Review of Finance and Banking, Academia de Studii Economice din Bucuresti, Romania / Facultatea de Finante, Asigurari, Banci si Burse de Valori / Catedra de Finante, vol. 11(2), pages 91-101, December.
    3. Matuka, Adelajda & Asafo, Shuffield Seyram, 2018. "External Debt and Economic Growth in Ghana: A Co-integration and a Vector Error Correction Analysis," MPRA Paper 90463, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Nov 2018.
    4. Cham, Yaya, 2023. "Inflation and Public Debt Reversals in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Economies," MPRA Paper 117027, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Birendra Narayan Shah & Md Iqbal Bhuyan & Rukshana Salam & Kim Sungsik, 2022. "Foreign Aid and Economic Growth in South Asian Countries," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 8(1), pages 41-51, May.
    6. Omodero Cordelia Onyinyechi, 2019. "External Debt Financing and Public Capital Investment in Nigeria: A Critical Evaluation," Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 33(1), pages 111-126, January.
    7. Manamba EPAPHRA & William MESIET, 2021. "The external debt burden and economic growth in Africa: a panel data analysis," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(2(627), S), pages 175-206, Summer.
    8. Furqan Sikandar & Vasilii Erokhin & Hongshu Wang & Shafiqur Rehman & Anna Ivolga, 2021. "The Impact of Foreign Capital Inflows on Agriculture Development and Poverty Reduction: Panel Data Analysis for Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-22, March.

    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. Manamba EPAPHRA & William MESIET, 2021. "The external debt burden and economic growth in Africa: a panel data analysis," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(2(627), S), pages 175-206, Summer.
    2. 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.
    3. Taner Turan & Halit Yanıkkaya, 2021. "External debt, growth and investment for developing countries: some evidence for the debt overhang hypothesis," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 20(3), pages 319-341, September.
    4. Makun, Keshmeer, 2021. "External debt and economic growth in Pacific Island countries: A linear and nonlinear analysis of Fiji Islands," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    5. Wanniarachchi, Sasindu Lakruwan, 2020. "The Nexus among External Debt and Economic Growth: Evidence from South Asia," OSF Preprints ghfdb, Center for Open Science.
    6. Brian Tavonga Mazorodze, 2020. "Re-visiting the External Debt-Economic Growth Question in Zimbabwe," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 12(2), pages 1-8.
    7. Taner Turan & Halit Yanikkaya, 2019. "External Debt, Growth and Investment for Developing Countries: The Role of Government Effectiveness," Working Papers 2019-03, Gebze Technical University, Department of Economics.
    8. Adewale Hassan & Daniel Meyer, 2021. "Exploring the Channels of Transmission between External Debt and Economic Growth: Evidence from Sub-Saharan African Countries," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-16, April.
    9. Mindaugas Butkus & Janina Seputiene, 2018. "Growth Effect of Public Debt: The Role of Government Effectiveness and Trade Balance," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-27, November.
    10. Olugbenga Onafowora & Oluwole Owoye, 2019. "Impact of external debt shocks on economic growth in Nigeria: a SVAR analysis," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 157-179, May.
    11. Doğan, İbrahim & Bilgili, Faik, 2014. "The non-linear impact of high and growing government external debt on economic growth: A Markov Regime-switching approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 213-220.
    12. Mattia Osvaldo Picarelli & Willem Vanlaer & Wim Marneffe, 2019. "Does Public Debt Produce a Crowding Out Effect for Public Investment in the EU?," Working Papers 36, European Stability Mechanism.
    13. Hasan Shahzad & Attiya Yasmin Javid, 2015. "Impact of Debt on Aggregate Investment and Productivity in Developing Asian Countries," PIDE-Working Papers 2015:127, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    14. Ikonen, Pasi, 2017. "Financial depth, debt, and growth," Bank of Finland Scientific Monographs, Bank of Finland, volume 0, number e51, March.
    15. Presbitero, Andrea F., 2008. "The Debt-Growth Nexus in Poor Countries: A Reassessment," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 2, pages 1-28.
    16. Siméon Koffi, 2019. "Nonlinear Impact of Public Debt on Economic Growth: Evidence from Sub-Saharan African Countries [Impact non linéaire de la dette publique sur la croissance: Evidence à partir des pays de l'Afrique ," Post-Print hal-02293757, HAL.
    17. Saungweme Talknice & Odhiambo Nicholas M., 2019. "Does Public Debt Service Expenditure Crowd-Out Economic Growth? Empirical Evidence from an African Developing Country," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 64(3), pages 23-38, December.
    18. Erdal Karagol, 2004. "A Critical Review of External Debt and Economic Growth Relationship: A Lesson for Indebtedness Countries," Ege Academic Review, Ege University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, vol. 4(1), pages 69-78.
    19. Rant, Vasja & Marinč, Matej & Porenta, Jan, 2021. "Debt and convergence: Evidence from the EU member states," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    20. Slimani, Slah & Othmani, Abdelhafidh & Bakari, Sayef, 2015. "Analyse de la Soutenabilité de la Dette Extérieure de la Tunisie pour la Période 1970-2012 [Analysis of the Sustainability of Tunisia's External Debt for the Period 1970-2012]," MPRA Paper 80824, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic Growth; External Debt; Debt Burden; System GMM; Sub-Saharan Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

    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:tei:journl:v:11:y:2017:i:1:p:61-69. 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: Kostas Stergidis (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dbikagr.html .

    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.