CAUSAL NEXUS AMONG EXPORTS, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH REVISITED: NEW EVIDENCE FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

This paper investigates causality relations among exports, foreign direct investment and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. A new panel-data causality testing approach is developed in the article, which is based on Bayesian estimation of Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) systems. The study covers the period between 1970 and 2017 and tests for both unidirectional and bidirectional causality relations for a group of 13 Sub-Saharan African countries. Findings suggest a direct, one-period-ahead, unidirectional causality from exports to GDP growth in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Test results provide evidence of growth-led exports in Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Niger. This study also provides valuable insights into causality relations between FDI and economic growth, and exports and FDI pairs