Rethinking African in the Global Development Agenda: Pathway to Economic Transformation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61194/economics.v3i3.838Keywords:
Economic Development, Africa, Poverty, Humand Development Index, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS)Abstract
This research is motivated by the urgent need to rethinking Africa’s development within the global space. Rethinking Africa’s development must transcend isolated national efforts and emerge as a coordinated continental imperative. Repositioning Africa within the global development architecture necessitates coordinated strategies from regional institutions. The research used time series data from 1990-2024. Having observed the data properties, that all the data series are non-stationary at levels but stationary at first difference using Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF), and all the variables are cointegrated using Hansen Test of Co-integration, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) is used in the study. The results shows that a 19.4-unit increase in FDI corresponds to a one-unit increase in GDP, demonstrating that FDI significantly contributes to economic growth in Africa. Aligned with established economic literature, the results further indicate that increases in GDP lead to reductions in Africa’s poverty rates. Furthermore, the analysis reveals a positive association between the Human Development Index (HDI) and GDP, indicating that improved human capital positively influences economic output in Africa. it was recommended that Trade expansion, export promotion, and enhanced regional integration must be central to Africa’s economic agenda. Increasing GDP should not be Africa’s sole objective. Equally critical is the enhancement of key macroeconomic indicators, including human capital development. Addressing unemployment, poverty, inequality, and improving the quality of education and healthcare systems are essential for increasing productivity and positioning Africa competitively within the global economy.
References
Acemoglu, D. (2005). Institution as a fundamental cause of long-run growth. https://economics.mit.edu/sites/default/files/publicatio/institutions. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w10481
Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Crown Business. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1355/ae29-2j
Addae, A. (2014). Causes of poverty in Africa: A review of literature. African Journal of Social Sciences, 3(7), 147–160.
Adeyemo, A. A. (2020). Economic growth, income inequality and poverty in Nigeria. Journal of Economic and Poverty Affairs, 8(1), 1–16.
Africa, U. N. E. C. (2019). Economic Report on Africa 2019: Fiscal Policy for Financing Sustainable Development in Africa. UNECA.
Agbo, E. I. (2025). Re-examining the effect of economic growth on poverty reduction in sub-Saharan African countries. British International Journal of Applied Economics, Finance and Accounting, 9(2), 59–90.
Akerlif, A. G., & Michaillat, P. (2015). Persistence of false paradigm in low-power sciences. https://pubmedincbi.nim.nih.gov/30523117.
Aladejana, S., A., O., A., I., Fayisayo, A. O., & John, A. A. (2021). Debt burden and infrastructural development in Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Science, 11(1), 419–432. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i1/8518
Auty, R. M. (1993). Sustaining Development in Mineral Economies: The Resource Curse Thesis. Routledge.
Balasubramanian, P., Burchi, F., & Malerbo, D. (2023). Does economic growth reduce multidimensional poverty? Evidence from low-and middle-income countries. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/SO305750X22003096. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106119
Bank, W. (2023). Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP. https://povertydata.worldbank.org
Collier, P. (2007). The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It. Oxford University Press.
Dai, X., Abou-Abbass, H., & Zhao, P. (2024). Particulate matter pollution and health impacts in six North African countries. European Journal of Environmental and Development, 7(2), 44–56.
Dinh, T. T., Duc, H. V, Anb, T. V, & Nguyen, T. C. (2019). Foreign direct investment and economic growth in the short run and long run: empirical evidence from developing countries. https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/12/4/176 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm12040176
Elhiraika, A., & Mbabazi, J. (2021). Why the richest resource continent suffers from poverty. Journal of Contemporary and Economy, 9(2), 181404.
Falade, A. O. O., Aladejana, S. A., Okeowo, I. A., & Feyisayo, A. O. (2021). Migrants’ remittances, financial development and economic growth in Nigeria: the interaction effect. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 11(1), 271–284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARAFMS/v11-i1/9139
Fernando, J. (2022). Resource curse: definition overview and examples. https://
Hope, K. R. (2001). The new public management: Context and practice in Africa. International Public Management Journal, 4(2), 119–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7494(01)00041-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7494(01)00053-8
I.M.F. (2023). Sub-Saharan Africa regional economic outlook: the road to resilience. https://www.imf.org/en/publications/REO/SSA/issues/2023/14/14.
Khan, S., & Mehboob, F. (2014). Impact of FDI on GDP; analysis of global economy on production function. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/55352/1/MPRA
Kituyi, M. (2017). Tourism for transformative and inclusive growth. United Nation Conference on Trade and Development. https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/aldcafrica2017-en.pdf.
Kotey, R. A. (2019). Foreign direct investment and spillover effects in Africa: an empirical review. International Journal of Science and Management Studies, 2(3), 13–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.51386/25815946/ijsms-v2i3p102
Kouadio, H. K., & Gakpa, L. L. (2022). Do economic growth and institutional quality reduce poverty and inequality in West Africa? Journal of Sustainable Development, 15(3), 26–45.
Mienebimo, K. (2024). Poverty, inequality and unemployment in Nigeria: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Social Science s and Management Research, 10(7), 270–285.
Namkoong, V. (1999). Dependency theory: concept, classification and criticisms. https://journals.Segepub.com/dio/10.1177/2233865999200106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/223386599900200106
Nathaniel, S. P. (2021). Natural resource abundance and broad-based financial development nexus in ASEAN countries: Accounting for globalization and human capital. European Journal of Government and Economics, 10(1), 30–45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17979/ejge.2021.10.1.7202
Nhamo, G. (2016). New global sustainable development agenda: a focus on Africa. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/sd.1648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1648
Nwozor, A. (2021). Agenda 2063 and the feasibility of sustainable development in Africa: any Silver Bullet? https://journal.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00219347211021099. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347211021099
Okeowo, I. A. (2019). Modeling inequality adjustment in West Africa sub region for sustainable development: application of autoregressive distributed lag technique. Samuel Adegboyega University Journal of Management and Social Science, 4(1 & 2), 121–129.
Okeowo, I. A. (2023). Unemployment and inflation trade-off; the Nigerian experience in the context of Philip curve. Journal of Economics and Allied Research, 8(2), 109–119.
Okeowo, I. A. (2024). Classic theory of development, a review of literature. DS Reviews of Commerce and Economics, 1(1), 44–49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.59232/CE-V1I1P104
Okeowo, I. A., & Awotade, J. A. (2024). Money supply, exchange rate and output growth volatility in Nigeria. Journal of Economics and Allied Research, 9(2), 27–32.
Okeowo, I. A., Gilbert, I., Oni, O., Adewale, S. A., Bakare, A., & Sadiq, J. M. (2023). The Effect of Inflation Rate, Exchange Rate, Oil Price and Wage Rate Structure on Nigeria economy. Journal of Economics and Policy Analysis, 8(1), 71–90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52968/25748455
Ozekhome, H. A., Esan, B. A., & Okeowo, I. A. (2023). Monetary policy and credit intermediation nexus in Nigeria: further evidence. African Development Finance Journal, 5(5), 101–117.
Ozekhome, H. A., Okeowo, I. A., & Adesokan, A. J. (2024). External-induced shock of COVID-19 pandemic on stock market volatility in African countries. Journal of Applied Financial Econometrics, 5(2), 201–215.
Richard, H. A. (2004). Economic growth, inequality and poverty: estimating the growth elasticity of poverty. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X04001524.
Sachs, J. D., Lafortune, G., Kroll, C., Fuller, G., & Woelm, F. (2023). Sustainable Development Report 2023: The SDGs Need a Global Rescue Plan. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009210058
Sachs, J. D., & Warner, A. M. (2001). The curse of natural resources. European Economic Review, 45(4–6), 827–838. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-2921(01)00125-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-2921(01)00125-8
Taqi, M., Ali, M., Parveen, C., Babar, M., & Khan, I. M. (2021). An analysis of human development index and economic growth. A case study of Pakistan. IRASD Journal of Economics, 3(3), 261–271. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52131/joe.2021.0302.0042
Todaro, M. P., & Smith, S. C. (2006). Economic Development (8th ed.). Pearson Education.
Ufomba, H. (2020). The African development agenda 2063: can Africa get it right? Brazilian Journal of Development, 6(8), 62625–62648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34117/bjdv6n8-627
Union, A. (2015). Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. African Union Commission.
Weller, C. (2012). Neocolonial dependency model and the false paradigm: useful for exploring development in Haiti and the Dominican Republic? http://www.proquest.com/docview/1629919752
