Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth of Selected African and South American Countries
This paper reports empirical findings pertaining to the effect of foreign direct investment on economic growth of 49 African and 12 South American countries for the period 1990-2003. Foreign direct investment has a positive and statistically significant effect on economic growth. However, the magnitude of the effect varies because of structural differences between the two regions. Put differently, the productivity of foreign direct investment is higher in African countries as compared to its productivity in South American countries. The main findings of the study are consistent with the predictions of the model. This paper was presented at the 2007 Annual Conference of the International Trade and Finance Association, May 16-20, 2007, Miami, Florida.