Foreign capital inflows and economic growth: the experience of low-income countries in Sub Saharan Africa

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the long-run impact of selected foreign capital inflows, including aid, remittances, foreign direct investment (FDI), trade and debt, on the economic growth of 21 low-income countries in the Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) region, during the period 1990–2018.

Design/methodology/approach

To obtain this objective and for robust analysis, a parametric approach, which was dynamic ordinary least squares, and a non-parametric technique, which was fully modified ordinary least squares, were used.

Findings

The results of both models confirmed that, in the long run, trade and aid affected the growth rate of the per capita income in these countries in a positive way. However, external debt seemed to have an adverse influence on such growth.

Originality/value

First, this is the initial study that has addressed this matter across a homogenous group of countries in the SSA region. Second, while most of the previous studies regarding capital inflows into the SSA region have focused on the impact of only one or two aspects of such foreign capital inflows on growth, the present study, instead, examined the impact of five types of foreign capital inflows (aid, remittances, FDI, trade and debt).

Citation

Awad, A. (2021), "Foreign capital inflows and economic growth: the experience of low-income countries in Sub Saharan Africa", Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 225-239. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCEFTS-07-2020-0028