Essays on economic growth in Africa

Muhammad, Kamaludeen

Abstract

This thesis investigates economic growth in Africa using three empirical papers from a number of different angles.

The thesis begins by investigating the effects of different natural resources on economic growth in Africa. Three exogenous natural resources proxies (for agriculture, fuels and minerals) have been constructed to account for endogeneity issues. Empirical results show that agriculture has a strong positive effect on economic growth, while fuels and minerals affect growth negatively in all specifications even after controlling for endogeneity, quality of institutions and economic policy. The results reject the notion for generalized natural resource curse and argue that the amalgamation of natural resources components into one measure may obscure differences in their respective growth impacts.

The thesis also investigates the effect of total and sectoral (primary, manufacturing and services sectors) FDI inflows on total factor productivity (TFP) at a macro level, using a new dataset for TFP developed by UNIDO-World Productivity Database and employing instrumental variables 2SLS estimation technique to control for endogeneity problem. Empirical findings show positive and statistically significant effects from total and sectoral FDI inflows on TFP growth. The findings also show that services sector has the highest potential to accelerate TFP growth (especially through communications, and trade and business sub-sectors).

Finally, the thesis considers the role of economic transformation in the form of increased manufacturing share in aggregate output in accelerating growth and reducing growth volatility in Africa. It examines the key determinants of growth in the share of manufacturing output (in GDP) and its relationship with real GDP growth and (growth) volatility. Empirical results indicate that real GDP growth and domestic investment are among the key drivers of growth in the share of manufacturing output and that growth in the latter has, in turn, the potential to raise GDP growth and reduce growth volatility.

Citation

Muhammad, K. Essays on economic growth in Africa. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4219604

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 6, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: Business
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4219604
• Additional Information: Business School, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Jun 1, 2016