Exploring the Dynamic Link Between Trade Openness, External Debt, and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Considerations

This study investigates the dynamic relationship between trade openness, external debt, and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the period from 1990 to 2023. The research examines how trade openness and external debt impact regional economic performance by employing Panel Autoregressi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Godswill Osuma, Ntokozo Patrick Nzimande
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Economies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/11/283
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850217730110652416
author Godswill Osuma
Ntokozo Patrick Nzimande
author_facet Godswill Osuma
Ntokozo Patrick Nzimande
author_sort Godswill Osuma
collection DOAJ
description This study investigates the dynamic relationship between trade openness, external debt, and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the period from 1990 to 2023. The research examines how trade openness and external debt impact regional economic performance by employing Panel Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) techniques utilizing the pool mean group and mean group estimator’s approach. The analysis reveals that while trade openness does not stimulate economic growth, external debt similarly has significant challenges, often hindering long-term development prospects within Sub-Saharan African countries. The findings underscore the importance of managing debt sustainably and aligning trade policies with growth-enhancing strategies. Additionally, human capital and institutional quality are essential endogenous growth factors that significantly influence economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study recommends that while trade openness alone may not directly drive economic growth, its benefits can be amplified by complementary strategies such as investing in human capital, technological adoption, and industrial policy. The study concludes with policy recommendations to enhance economic resilience and foster sustainable growth, such as attracting foreign direct investment, combined with infrastructure development and sound fiscal management.
format Article
id doaj-art-68b68359dcd3403dbadf03213d7e353c
institution OA Journals
issn 2227-7099
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Economies
spelling doaj-art-68b68359dcd3403dbadf03213d7e353c2025-08-20T02:07:59ZengMDPI AGEconomies2227-70992024-10-01121128310.3390/economies12110283Exploring the Dynamic Link Between Trade Openness, External Debt, and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and ConsiderationsGodswill Osuma0Ntokozo Patrick Nzimande1Department of Economics and Econometrics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2000, South AfricaDepartment of Economics and Econometrics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2000, South AfricaThis study investigates the dynamic relationship between trade openness, external debt, and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the period from 1990 to 2023. The research examines how trade openness and external debt impact regional economic performance by employing Panel Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) techniques utilizing the pool mean group and mean group estimator’s approach. The analysis reveals that while trade openness does not stimulate economic growth, external debt similarly has significant challenges, often hindering long-term development prospects within Sub-Saharan African countries. The findings underscore the importance of managing debt sustainably and aligning trade policies with growth-enhancing strategies. Additionally, human capital and institutional quality are essential endogenous growth factors that significantly influence economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study recommends that while trade openness alone may not directly drive economic growth, its benefits can be amplified by complementary strategies such as investing in human capital, technological adoption, and industrial policy. The study concludes with policy recommendations to enhance economic resilience and foster sustainable growth, such as attracting foreign direct investment, combined with infrastructure development and sound fiscal management.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/11/283trade opennessexternal debteconomic growthSub-Saharan Africapanel ARDLhuman capital
spellingShingle Godswill Osuma
Ntokozo Patrick Nzimande
Exploring the Dynamic Link Between Trade Openness, External Debt, and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Considerations
Economies
trade openness
external debt
economic growth
Sub-Saharan Africa
panel ARDL
human capital
title Exploring the Dynamic Link Between Trade Openness, External Debt, and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Considerations
title_full Exploring the Dynamic Link Between Trade Openness, External Debt, and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Considerations
title_fullStr Exploring the Dynamic Link Between Trade Openness, External Debt, and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Considerations
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Dynamic Link Between Trade Openness, External Debt, and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Considerations
title_short Exploring the Dynamic Link Between Trade Openness, External Debt, and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Considerations
title_sort exploring the dynamic link between trade openness external debt and economic growth in sub saharan africa challenges and considerations
topic trade openness
external debt
economic growth
Sub-Saharan Africa
panel ARDL
human capital
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/11/283
work_keys_str_mv AT godswillosuma exploringthedynamiclinkbetweentradeopennessexternaldebtandeconomicgrowthinsubsaharanafricachallengesandconsiderations
AT ntokozopatricknzimande exploringthedynamiclinkbetweentradeopennessexternaldebtandeconomicgrowthinsubsaharanafricachallengesandconsiderations