IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ecopln/v55y2022i3d10.1007_s10644-021-09366-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Industrialization, FDI and absorptive capacities: evidence from African Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Sami Ben Mim

    (University of Sousse)

  • Abir Hedi

    (University of Sousse)

  • Mohamed Sami Ben Ali

    (Qatar University)

Abstract

This paper assesses the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the industrialization of African economies. In particular, we address the nonlinearity issue and investigate the role of the recipient countries’ absorptive capacities as a catalyst of foreign investments' spillover effects. The empirical framework considers a panel of 46 countries over the 1998–2019 period. The SGMM estimates highlight a two-threshold relationship between FDI and industrial output. FDI should range between an upper and a lower bound to produce a positive effect on domestic industries. Our findings also suggest that weakly industrialized countries and countries endowed with high absorptive capacities are those taking advantage from the spillover effects generated by FDI. Finally, estimation results reveal that financial development, human capital, infrastructure and the legal framework are the main channels through which FDI contributes to promote the industrialization process in Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Sami Ben Mim & Abir Hedi & Mohamed Sami Ben Ali, 2022. "Industrialization, FDI and absorptive capacities: evidence from African Countries," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 1739-1766, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ecopln:v:55:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10644-021-09366-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10644-021-09366-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10644-021-09366-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10644-021-09366-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert Rowthorn & Ramana Ramaswamy, 1999. "Growth, Trade, and Deindustrialization," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 46(1), pages 1-2.
    2. Kottaridi, Constantina & Stengos, Thanasis, 2010. "Foreign direct investment, human capital and non-linearities in economic growth," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 858-871, September.
    3. Kearns, Allan & Ruane, Frances, 2001. "The tangible contribution of R&D-spending foreign-owned plants to a host region: a plant level study of the Irish manufacturing sector (1980-1996)," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 227-244, February.
    4. Elizabeth Asiedu, 2006. "Foreign Direct Investment in Africa: The Role of Natural Resources, Market Size, Government Policy, Institutions and Political Instability," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 63-77, January.
    5. Markusen, James R. & Venables, Anthony J., 1999. "Foreign direct investment as a catalyst for industrial development," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 335-356, February.
    6. Ahmad Zubaidi Baharumshah & Ly Slesman & Evelyn Shyamala Devadason, 2017. "Types of Foreign Capital Inflows and Economic Growth: New Evidence on Role of Financial Markets," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 768-789, August.
    7. Makiela, Kamil & Ouattara, Bazoumana, 2018. "Foreign direct investment and economic growth: Exploring the transmission channels," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 296-305.
    8. Da Rin, Marco & Hellmann, Thomas, 2002. "Banks as Catalysts for Industrialization," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 366-397, October.
    9. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    10. Wolfgang Keller & Stephen R. Yeaple, 2009. "Multinational Enterprises, International Trade, and Productivity Growth: Firm-Level Evidence from the United States," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(4), pages 821-831, November.
    11. Holger Görg & David Greenaway, 2016. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 9, pages 163-189, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    12. Koen De Backer & Leo Sleuwaegen, 2003. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Crowd Out Domestic Entrepreneurship?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 22(1), pages 67-84, February.
    13. Paul Almeida & Bruce Kogut, 1999. "Localization of Knowledge and the Mobility of Engineers in Regional Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(7), pages 905-917, July.
    14. Laura Alfaro & Andrés Rodriguez-Clare, 2004. "Multinationals and Linkages: An Empirical Investigation," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 113-169, January.
    15. Mokyr, Joel, 2005. "Long-Term Economic Growth and the History of Technology," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 17, pages 1113-1180, Elsevier.
    16. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 2022. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 6, pages 139-152, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    17. Acemoglu, Daron & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 1997. "Was Prometheus Unbound by Chance? Risk, Diversification, and Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(4), pages 709-751, August.
    18. Szirmai, Adam & Verspagen, Bart, 2015. "Manufacturing and economic growth in developing countries, 1950–2005," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 46-59.
    19. Abiodun Egbetokun & Richmond Atta-Ankomah & Oluseye Jegede & Edward Lorenz, 2016. "Firm-level innovation in Africa: overcoming limits and constraints," Innovation and Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 161-174, July.
    20. Helen Louri & Ioanna Pepelasis Minoglou, 2001. "A Quantitative Exploration on the Determinants of (De-)Industrialisation: The case of Greece," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 397-410.
    21. Iamsiraroj, Sasi & Ulubaşoğlu, Mehmet Ali, 2015. "Foreign direct investment and economic growth: A real relationship or wishful thinking?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 200-213.
    22. Alguacil, M. & Cuadros, A. & Orts, V., 2011. "Inward FDI and growth: The role of macroeconomic and institutional environment," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 481-496, May.
    23. Borensztein, E. & De Gregorio, J. & Lee, J-W., 1998. "How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth?1," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 115-135, June.
    24. Sung Jin Kang & Hongshik Lee, 2011. "Foreign Direct Investment and De‐industrialisation," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 313-329, February.
    25. Mr. Ramana Ramaswamy & Mr. Bob Rowthorn, 1997. "Deindustrialization: Causes and Implications," IMF Working Papers 1997/042, International Monetary Fund.
    26. Blalock, Garrick & Gertler, Paul J., 2008. "Welfare gains from Foreign Direct Investment through technology transfer to local suppliers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 402-421, March.
    27. Alfaro, Laura & Chanda, Areendam & Kalemli-Ozcan, Sebnem & Sayek, Selin, 2004. "FDI and economic growth: the role of local financial markets," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 89-112, October.
    28. Dani Rodrik, 2008. "The Real Exchange Rate and Economic Growth," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 39(2 (Fall)), pages 365-439.
    29. Edward Lorenz & A. Egbetokum & Richmond Atta-Ankomah & Oluwagbemiga Jegede, 2016. "Firm-level Innovation in Africa: overcoming limits and constraints," Post-Print halshs-01427053, HAL.
    30. Newman, Carol & Rand, John & Talbot, Theodore & Tarp, Finn, 2015. "Technology transfers, foreign investment and productivity spillovers," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 168-187.
    31. Gui-Diby, Steve Loris & Renard, Mary-Françoise, 2015. "Foreign Direct Investment Inflows and the Industrialization of African Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 43-57.
    32. Gouthami Kothakapa & Samyukta Bhupatiraju & Rahul A. Sirohi, 2021. "Revisiting the link between financial development and industrialization: evidence from low and middle income countries," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 215-230, June.
    33. Niels Hermes & Robert Lensink, 2003. "Foreign direct investment, financial development and economic growth," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 142-163.
    34. Haddad, Mona & Harrison, Ann, 1993. "Are there positive spillovers from direct foreign investment? : Evidence from panel data for Morocco," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 51-74, October.
    35. Rodriguez-Clare, Andres, 1996. "Multinationals, Linkages, and Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(4), pages 852-873, September.
    36. Temple, Jonathan & Voth, Hans-Joachim, 1998. "Human capital, equipment investment, and industrialization," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(7), pages 1343-1362, July.
    37. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Steven Globerman, 2001. "The determinants of host country spillovers from foreign direct investment: a review and synthesis of the literature," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Nigel Pain (ed.), Inward Investment Technological Change and Growth, chapter 2, pages 34-65, Palgrave Macmillan.
    38. Durham, J.B.J. Benson, 2004. "Absorptive capacity and the effects of foreign direct investment and equity foreign portfolio investment on economic growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 285-306, April.
    39. Jan Fagerberg & Bart Verspagen, 1999. "‘Modern Capitalism’ in the 1970s and 1980s," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Mark Setterfield (ed.), Growth, Employment and Inflation, chapter 9, pages 113-126, Palgrave Macmillan.
    40. Jozef Konings, 2001. "The effects of foreign direct investment on domestic firms," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 9(3), pages 619-633, November.
    41. Amendolagine, Vito & Boly, Amadou & Coniglio, Nicola Daniele & Prota, Francesco & Seric, Adnan, 2013. "FDI and Local Linkages in Developing Countries: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 41-56.
    42. KH Zhang, 2001. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Economic Growth? Evidence From East Asia And Latin America," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 19(2), pages 175-185, April.
    43. Tim Büthe & Helen V. Milner, 2008. "The Politics of Foreign Direct Investment into Developing Countries: Increasing FDI through International Trade Agreements?," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(4), pages 741-762, October.
    44. Kinoshita, Yuko, 2001. "R&D and Technology Spillovers through FDI: Innovation and Absorptive Capacity," CEPR Discussion Papers 2775, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    45. García, Francisco & Jin, Byungchae & Salomon, Robert, 2013. "Does inward foreign direct investment improve the innovative performance of local firms?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 231-244.
    46. Caves, Richard E, 1974. "Multinational Firms, Competition, and Productivity in Host-Country Markets," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 41(162), pages 176-193, May.
    47. Robert Z. Lawrence & David E. Weinstein, 1999. "Trade and Growth: Import-Led or Export-Led? Evidence From Japan and Korea," NBER Working Papers 7264, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    48. Rudra P. Pradhan & Mak B. Arvin & John H. Hall, 2019. "The Nexus Between Economic Growth, Stock Market Depth, Trade Openness, And Foreign Direct Investment: The Case Of Asean Countries," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(03), pages 461-493, June.
    49. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    50. Ines TROJETTE, 2016. "The Effect Of Foreign Direct Investment On Economic Growth: The Institutional Threshold," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 43, pages 111-138.
    51. Belderbos, Rene & Capannelli, Giovanni & Fukao, Kyoji, 2001. "Backward Vertical Linkages of Foreign Manufacturing Affiliates: Evidence from Japanese Multinationals," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 189-208, January.
    52. Chan, M.W. Luke & Hou, Keqiang & Li, Xing & Mountain, Dean C., 2014. "Foreign direct investment and its determinants: A regional panel causality analysis," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(4), pages 579-589.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Adewale Samuel Hassan & Daniel Francois Meyer, 2022. "Interplay between Finance and Institutions in the Development Process of the Industrial Sector: Evidence from South Africa," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-20, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Neil Foster-McGregor, 2012. "Innovation and Technology Transfer across Countries," wiiw Research Reports 380, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    2. Gui-Diby, Steve Loris & Renard, Mary-Françoise, 2015. "Foreign Direct Investment Inflows and the Industrialization of African Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 43-57.
    3. Crespo, Nuno & Fontoura, Maria Paula, 2007. "Determinant Factors of FDI Spillovers - What Do We Really Know?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 410-425, March.
    4. Maria Cipollina & Giorgia Giovannetti & Filomena Pietrovito & Alberto F. Pozzolo, 2012. "FDI and Growth: What Cross-country Industry Data Say," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(11), pages 1599-1629, November.
    5. Segundo Camino-Mogro & Natalia Bermúdez-Barrezueta & Mary Armijos, 2023. "Is FDI a potential tool for boosting firm’s performance? Firm level evidence from Ecuador," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 341-391, April.
    6. Müller, Patrick, 2021. "Impacts of inward FDIs and ICT penetration on the industrialisation of Sub-Saharan African countries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 265-279.
    7. Clark Don P. & Highfill Jannett & de Oliveira Campino Jonas & Rehman Scheherazade S., 2011. "FDI, Technology Spillovers, Growth, and Income Inequality: A Selective Survey," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 11(2), pages 1-44, July.
    8. Orlic, Edvard & Hashi, Iraj & Hisarciklilar, Mehtap, 2018. "Cross sectoral FDI spillovers and their impact on manufacturing productivity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 777-796.
    9. Pineli, Andre & Narula, Rajneesh & Belderbos, Rene, 2019. "FDI, multinationals and structural change in developing countries," MERIT Working Papers 2019-004, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    10. Holger Görg & David Greenaway, 2016. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 9, pages 163-189, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. M. Ayhan Kose & Eswar Prasad & Kenneth Rogoff & Shang-Jin Wei, 2009. "Financial Globalization: A Reappraisal," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 56(2), pages 143-197.
    12. Damijan, Jože P. & Rojec, Matija & Majcen, Boris & Knell, Mark, 2013. "Impact of firm heterogeneity on direct and spillover effects of FDI: Micro-evidence from ten transition countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 895-922.
    13. Laura Alfaro & Areendam Chanda & Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan & Selin Sayek, 2006. "How Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Economic Growth? Exploring the Effects of Financial Markets on Linkages," DEGIT Conference Papers c011_023, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    14. Emre Gökçeli & Jan Fidrmuc & Sugata Ghosh, 2022. "Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth and Domestic Investment: Evidence from OECD Countries," European Journal of Business Science and Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics, vol. 8(2), pages 190-216.
    15. García, Francisco & Jin, Byungchae & Salomon, Robert, 2013. "Does inward foreign direct investment improve the innovative performance of local firms?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 231-244.
    16. Shima’a Hanafy & Marcus Marktanner, 2019. "Sectoral FDI, absorptive capacity and economic growth – empirical evidence from Egyptian governorates," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 57-81, January.
    17. Santos, Eleonora & Khan, Shahed, 2018. "Determinant Factors of Pecuniary Externalities," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 6(8), pages 180-198.
    18. Matija Rojec & Mark Knell, 2018. "Why Is There A Lack Of Evidence On Knowledge Spillovers From Foreign Direct Investment?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 579-612, July.
    19. Elya Nabila Abdul Bahri & Abu Hassan Shaari Md Nor & Tamat Sarmidi & Nor Hakimah Haji Mohd Nor, 2019. "The Role of Financial Development in the Relationship Between Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth: A Nonlinear Approach," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(02), pages 1-32, June.
    20. Argentino Pessoa, 2008. "Multinational Corporations, Foreign Investment, and Royalties and License Fees: Effects on Host-Country Total Factor Productivity," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 28, pages 6-31, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    FDI; Industrialization; Absorptive capacities; African countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • N17 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Africa; Oceania

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:ecopln:v:55:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10644-021-09366-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.