Research Articles

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A research article reports the results of original research, assesses its contribution to the body of knowledge in a given area, and is published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. The faculty publications through published and on-going articles/researches are captured in this community

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Effect of HIV/AIDS on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Recent Evidence
    (International Advances in Economic Research, 2019-11-26) Nketiah-Amponsah, E.; Abubakari, M.; Baffour, P.T.
    This paper examines the effect of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using data from 46 SSA countries spanning the period 2000–2015. Results based on the system-generalized method of moments estimation showed that a 1% increase in the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in SSA decreased the growth in per capita income by 0.47%. The impact of HIV/AIDS on economic growth was felt most in Eastern Africa followed by West Africa, although the prevalence rate was highest in Southern Africa. In particular, a 1% increase in the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Africa and West Africa retarded growth in per capita income by 0.64% and 0.47%, respectively, over the study period. The paper suggests that for SSA to minimize the impact of HIV/AIDS prevalence on growth, African governments should take a cue from the southern African countries by making anti-retroviral drugs more accessible and affordable to persons living with the disease.
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    Effect of Infrastructure and Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, 2019-11-19) Nketiah-Amponsah, E.; Sarpong, B.
    This article investigates the effect of infrastructure and foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using panel data on 46 countries covering the period 2003– 2017. The data were analyzed using fixed effects, random effects, and system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation techniques. Based on the system GMM estimates, the results indicate that a 1 percent improvement in electricity and transport infrastructure induces growth by 0.09 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively. Additionally, FDI proved to be growth enhancing only when interacted with infrastructure. The interactive effect of FDI and infrastructure improves economic growth by 0.016 percent. The results suggest that public provision of economic infrastructure reduces the cost of production for multinational enterprises, thus providing an incentive to increase investment in the domestic economy to sustain economic growth. The results also suggest that the impact of FDI on economic growth is maximized when some level of economic infrastructure is available. Our findings thus provide ample justification on the need for a significant government investment in infrastructure to provide a less costly business environment for both local and multinational enterprises to improve economic growth.
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    Health and Economic Growth Nexus: Evidence from Selected Sub-Saharan African (SSA) Countries
    (Global Business Review, 2018-06) Sarpong, B.; Nketiah-Amponsah, E.; Owoo, N.S.
    This article examines the effect of health on long-run economic growth in 35 selected sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries using panel data covering the period 1997–2016. Data were analysed using panel co-integration tests, panel Granger causality tests and the dynamic OLS estimator. The results show that health human capital is a significant determinant of long-run economic growth in SSA. In particular, a percentage increase in health human capital proxied by per capita health expenditure increases growth by 0.207 per cent. The prime contribution of this article to the literature lies in the results of the novel interaction between health human capital and institutional quality. More precisely, by using the dynamic panel least square estimation technique, we found that the effect of institutional quality on economic growth is positive and robust only when it is interacted with the required health human capital. It is further revealed that the causal link between economic growth and health is bidirectional.
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    External Debts, Institutions and Growth in SSA
    (Journal of African Business, 2018-03) Mensah, L.; Bokpin, G.; Boachie-Yiadom, E.
    The study investigates the impact of institutional quality on the external debt–growth nexus in SSA. Data from 36 SSA economies over the 1996–2013 periods were used. The results from the IV-System GMM imply that institutional quality has robust effects on the external debt–growth nexus. Thus, the impact of external debt on growth is through host nation’s institutional quality. However, the mediating effect of institutional quality on this nexus is up to a point. When a country is on the wrong side of the debt-laffer curve, external debt becomes irrelevant; and institutional quality can no longer help.
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    The relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability : evidence from selected Sub-Sahara African countries
    (2014-12) Aboagye, S.; Kwakwa, P.A.
    Ensuring environmental sustainability amidst the quest to stimulate growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains an issue of great concern. In spite of this, the evidence for SSA is sparse, both at the theoretical and empirical level as literature has not adequately interrogated the effects of economic growth processes on the sustainability of the environment in SSA. Using a panel dataset from 1985-2010 covering 35 Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, this study examined the environmental impact of economic growth and growth-enhancing factors such as trade openness, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and industrialization under the Environmental Kuznet Curve (EKC) framework. The environmental variables employed are CO2 emissions, Adjusted Net Savings (ANS) and energy consumption per capita. Employing the system Generalized Method of Moment, trade openness was found to reduce pollution/degradation through reduced CO2 emissions and energy consumption per capita while at the same time reducing environmental sustainability of SSA through reduced ANS. Industrialization was also found to unambiguously harm the environment while rapid urbanization is revealed to increase pollution/degradation through increased CO2 emissions and energy consumption. FDI is the only component found to be accompanied by a fall in pollution/environmental degradation through reduced CO2 emissions and energy consumption and a rise in environmental sustainability through increased ANS. Finally, while the Environmental Kuznet Curve (EKC) is confirmed for ANS and energy consumption, it is not established for CO2 emissions.