IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/108919.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Which investment (private or public) does contribute to economic growth more? a case study of South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Abbas, Aadil
  • Masih, Mansur

Abstract

Economic growth is an important driver for the well-being of the citizens of a country. Despite a common view that investment is a key driver of economic growth, there are conflicting views on whether it is Public investment which drives Private Investment, or whether it is the other way around. Both theoretical views as well as empirical studies tend to have divergent views on this matter, and it is therefore important to try to understand which causes which, in order to help the policymakers. Using the standard time-series techniques, this study uses annual data and tests the relationship between Investment and economic growth, and also the direction of any causal link between Public and Private investment. This study contributes to the existing studies on the effects of Public and Private investment, with particular reference to South Africa, which is classified as a developing economy. The contribution of this study to the general body of empirical studies is important because, to date, there is no clear answer with regard to the causal link between public and private investment in developing countries. This paper attempts to provide further clarity on the issue. The findings of this study are that both Public and private Investment play a significant role in enhancing economic growth. As to which of these two plays a greater role, this study tends to indicate that Private Investment plays relatively a greater role in explaining economic growth than Public Investment.

Suggested Citation

  • Abbas, Aadil & Masih, Mansur, 2017. "Which investment (private or public) does contribute to economic growth more? a case study of South Africa," MPRA Paper 108919, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:108919
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/108919/1/MPRA_paper_108919.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. H. Ahmed & SM. Miller, 2000. "Crowding‐out and crowding‐in effects of the components of government expenditure," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 18(1), pages 124-133, January.
    2. Dhaneshwar Ghura & Barry Goodwin, 2000. "Determinants of private investment: a cross-regional empirical investigation," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(14), pages 1819-1829.
    3. Joshua Greene & Delano Villanueva, 1991. "Private Investment in Developing Countries: An Empirical Analysis," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 38(1), pages 33-58, March.
    4. Fedderke, J.W. & Perkins, P. & Luiz, J.M., 2006. "Infrastructural investment in long-run economic growth: South Africa 1875-2001," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1037-1059, June.
    5. Easterly, William & Rebelo, Sergio, 1993. "Fiscal policy and economic growth: An empirical investigation," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 417-458, December.
    6. Levine, Ross & Renelt, David, 1992. "A Sensitivity Analysis of Cross-Country Growth Regressions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(4), pages 942-963, September.
    7. Marianna Belloc & Pietro Vertova, 2006. "Public Investment and Economic Performance in Highly Indebted Poor Countries: An Empirical Assessment," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 151-170.
    8. Aschauer, David Alan, 1989. "Does public capital crowd out private capital?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 171-188, September.
    9. Masih, Mansur & Algahtani, Ibrahim, 2008. "Estimation of Long-run Demand for Money: An Application of Long-run Structural Modelling to Saudi Arabia," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 61(1), pages 81-99.
    10. Cavallo, Eduardo & Daude, Christian, 2011. "Public investment in developing countries: A blessing or a curse?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 65-81, March.
    11. Fielding, David, 1997. "Aggregate Investment in South Africa: A Model with Implications for Political Reform," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 59(3), pages 349-369, August.
    12. Lutfi Erden & Randall G. Holcombe, 2005. "The Effects of Public Investment on Private Investment in Developing Economies," Public Finance Review, , vol. 33(5), pages 575-602, September.
    13. Ndikumana, Leonce, 2000. "Financial Determinants of Domestic Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Panel Data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 381-400, February.
    14. Mansur Masih & Ali Al-Elg & Haider Madani, 2009. "Causality between financial development and economic growth: an application of vector error correction and variance decomposition methods to Saudi Arabia," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(13), pages 1691-1699.
    15. Adam P. Balcerzak & Elzbieta Rogalska, 2014. "Crowding Out and Crowding in within Keynesian Framework. Do We Need Any New Empirical Research Concerning Them?," Working Papers 2/2014, Institute of Economic Research, revised May 2014.
    16. James B. Ang, 2010. "Determinants Of Private Investment In Malaysia: What Causes The Postcrisis Slumps?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 28(3), pages 378-391, July.
    17. Oshikoya, Temitope W, 1994. "Macroeconomic Determinants of Domestic Private Investment in Africa: An Empirical Analysis," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(3), pages 573-596, April.
    18. Voss, Graham M., 2002. "Public and private investment in the United States and Canada," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 641-664, August.
    19. Scott, Maurice FG, 1976. "Investment and Growth," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 28(3), pages 317-363, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Ward Romp & Jakob De Haan, 2007. "Public Capital and Economic Growth: A Critical Survey," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 8(S1), pages 6-52, April.
    2. Sajad Ahmad Bhat & Javed Ahmad Bhat & Taufeeq Ajaz, 2020. "The Public–Private Investment Nexus In India: Evidence From A Policy Simulation Approach," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 65(224), pages 101-128, January –.
    3. Cevik, Serhan, 2020. "You are suffocating me: Firm-level analysis of state-owned enterprises and private investment," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 292-301.
    4. Stephen S. Everhart & Mariusz A. Sumlinski, 2001. "Trends in Private Investment in Developing Countries : Statistics for 1970-2000 and the Impact on Private Investment of Corruption and the Quality of Public Investment," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13989, December.
    5. Sallahuddin Hassan & Zalila Othman & Mohd Zaini Abd Karim, 2011. "Private and Public Investment in Malaysia: A Panel Time-Series Analysis," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 1(4), pages 199-210.
    6. Tan, Bee Wah & Tang, Chor Foon, 2011. "The dynamic relationship between private domestic investment, the user cost of capital, and economic growth in Malaysia," MPRA Paper 27964, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Marianna Belloc & Pietro Vertova, 2004. "How Does Public Investment Affect Economic Growth in HIPC? An Empirical Assessment," Department of Economics University of Siena 416, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    8. Mallick, Hrushikesh & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar & Sahoo, Manoranjan, 2018. "Is crude oil price detrimental to domestic private investment for an emerging economy? The role of public sector investment and financial sector development in an era of globalization," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 307-324.
    9. Åsa Johansson, 2016. "Public Finance, Economic Growth and Inequality: A Survey of the Evidence," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1346, OECD Publishing.
    10. Chiara DEL BO, 2009. "Recent advances in public investment, fiscal policy and growth," Departmental Working Papers 2009-25, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    11. Thuy T. Dang & Anh D. Pham & Diem N. Tran, 2020. "Impact of Monetary Policy on Private Investment: Evidence from Vietnam’s Provincial Data," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Pravakar Sahoo & Ashwani Bishnoi, 2021. "Investment Slowdown in India: Role of Fiscal-Monetary policy and Economic Uncertainty," IEG Working Papers 439, Institute of Economic Growth.
    13. Hüseyin Şen & Ayşe Kaya, 2014. "Crowding-Out or Crowding-In? Analyzing the Effects of Government Spending on Private Investment in Turkey," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 61(6), pages 617-630, December.
    14. Honoré S. Houngbedji & Nassibou Bassongui, 2021. "Investissement Public et Investissement Privé en Afrique Subsaharienne: Rôle de la Qualité Institutionnelle," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(3), pages 466-478, September.
    15. Diego Martinez-Lopez, 2006. "Linking Public Investment to Private Investment. The Case of Spanish Regions," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 411-423.
    16. Akçay Selçuk & Karasoy Alper, 2020. "Determinants of private investments in Turkey: Examining the role of democracy," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 20(1), pages 23-49, March.
    17. Sambulo Malumisa, 2013. "Comparative Analysis of the Determinants and Behaviour of Investment Demand between South Africa and Zimbabwe," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 5(6), pages 385-397.
    18. Ibrahim Ari & Muammer Koc, 2020. "Economic Growth, Public and Private Investment: A Comparative Study of China and the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, March.
    19. Ambaye, Guesh Gebremeske & Berhanu, T. & Abera, G., 2013. "Modeling the Determinats of Domestic Private Investments in Ethiopia," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 5(4), pages 1-11, December.
    20. Ndikumana, Leonce, 2000. "Financial Determinants of Domestic Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Panel Data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 381-400, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic growth; Public investment; Private Investment; Crowding-out; Crowding-in;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes
    • C58 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Financial Econometrics
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy

    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:pra:mprapa:108919. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    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.