IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/83157.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Is public debt harmful towards economic growth? New evidence from South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Mhlaba, Ncebakazi
  • Phiri, Andrew

Abstract

The issue of whether public debt is useful or harmful towards economic growth is one of the most prevailing debates in the literature with no consensus existing on the subject matter. The study employs the ARDL model to examine the long-run and short-run effects of public debt on economic growth for South African data spanning a period between 2002:q2 to 2016:q4. Our sensitivity analysis consists of re-estimating our empirical regressions using two sub-samples dataset corresponding to the pre-crisis period (i.e. 2002:q1 to 2007:q2) and the post-crisis period (i.e. 2007:q3 to 2016:q4). All estimated regressions unanimously find negative long-run debt –growth relationship although the short-term effects are unclear with some evidence of a positive short-run relationship between the time series specifically in the post-crisis period. Overall, our empirical results have some useful ramifications towards policymakers.

Suggested Citation

  • Mhlaba, Ncebakazi & Phiri, Andrew, 2017. "Is public debt harmful towards economic growth? New evidence from South Africa," MPRA Paper 83157, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:83157
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/83157/1/MPRA_paper_83157.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Panizza, Ugo & Presbitero, Andrea F., 2014. "Public debt and economic growth: Is there a causal effect?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 21-41.
    2. Mabugu, Ramos & Robichaud, Veronique & Maisonnave, Helene & Chitiga, Margaret, 2013. "Impact of fiscal policy in an intertemporal CGE model for South Africa," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 775-782.
    3. Eberhardt, Markus & Presbitero, Andrea F., 2015. "Public debt and growth: Heterogeneity and non-linearity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 45-58.
    4. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2010. "Growth in a Time of Debt," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 573-578, May.
    5. Mohammed Ershad HUSSAIN & Mahfuzul HAQUE & Richard S. IGWIKE, 2015. "Relationship between Economic Growth and Debt: An Empirical Analysis for Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, KSP Journals, vol. 2(2), pages 262-275, June.
    6. Marta Gómez-Puig & Simón Sosvilla-Rivero, 2015. "On the bi-directional causal relationship between public debt and economic growth in EMU countries," Working Papers 15-06, Asociación Española de Economía y Finanzas Internacionales.
    7. M. Hashem Pesaran & Yongcheol Shin & Richard J. Smith, 2001. "Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 289-326.
    8. Barro, Robert J, 1989. "The Ricardian Approach to Budget Deficits," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 37-54, Spring.
    9. Iyoha, M.A., 1999. "External Debt and Economic Growth in Sub-SAharan African Countries: an Econometric Study," Papers 90, African Economic Research Consortium.
    10. Catherine Pattillo & Hélène Poirson & Luca Antonio Ricci, 2011. "External Debt and Growth," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 2(3).
    11. Teboho Jeremiah Mosikari & Joel Hinaunye Eita, 2017. "Empirical test of the Ricardian Equivalence in the Kingdom of Lesotho," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1351674-135, January.
    12. D Hodge, 2002. "Inflation Versus Unemployment in South Africa: Is There a Trade‐Off?," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 70(3), pages 193-204, March.
    13. Andrew Phiri, 2019. "Does Military Spending Nonlinearly Affect Economic Growth in South Africa?," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 474-487, June.
    14. D. Hodge, 2006. "Inflation and growth in South Africa," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 30(2), pages 163-180, March.
    15. Manoel Bittencourt, 2015. "Determinants of Government and External Debt: Evidence from the Young Democracies of South America," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3), pages 463-472, May.
    16. Bernd Kempa & Nazmus Sadat Khan, 2016. "Government debt and economic growth in the G7 countries: are there any causal linkages?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 440-443, April.
    17. Krugman, Paul, 1988. "Financing vs. forgiving a debt overhang," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 253-268, November.
    18. Debi Prasad Bal & Badri Narayan Rath, 2014. "Public debt and economic growth in India: A reassessment," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 292-300.
    19. Gómez-Puig, Marta & Sosvilla-Rivero, Simón, 2015. "The causal relationship between debt and growth in EMU countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 974-989.
    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. Hylton Hollander, 2024. "Debt-financed fiscal stimulus in South Africa," Studies in Economics and Econometrics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 87-112, January.
    2. Theshne Kisten, 2023. "Macro-financial implications of public debt in South Africa: The role of financial regimes," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-76, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Ahmed Oluwatobi Adekunle, 2022. "The Debt-Growth Nexus in Nigeria: An Empirical Evidence," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 12(6), pages 155-161, November.
    4. TOGBENU, Fo-kossi Edem & Kadanga, Mayo Takémsi Norris, 2024. "Un réexamen de l’effet de seuil de la dette publique sur la croissance économique en Afrique subsaharienne [A reevaluation of the threshold effect of public debt on economic growth in Sub-Saharan A," MPRA Paper 120429, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Stoyan Tanchev & Naftaly Mose, 2023. "Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth: Evidence from European Union Countries," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 3, pages 19-36.
    6. Saungweme, Talknice & Odhiambo, Nicholas M, 2019. "Relative impact of domestic and foreign public debt on economic growth in South Africa," Working Papers 25664, University of South Africa, Department of Economics.
    7. Nsirimovu, Okwuwada, 2023. "Reflecting on the appetite for borrowing and the volatility of crude prices for rapid post-COVID economic recovery initiatives in Nigeria: Implications for Per capita income using a Dynamic ARDL simul," MPRA Paper 119532, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Dec 2023.
    8. Pradhan , Rudra P. & Arvin, Mak B. & Nair , Mahendhiran & Hall , John H., 2022. "Public Debt, Economic Openness, And Sustainable Economic Growth in Europe: A Dynamic Panel Causal Analysis," Journal of Economic Development, The Economic Research Institute, Chung-Ang University, vol. 47(1), pages 167-183, March.
    9. Callistus Tabansi Okeke & Chinwe Ann Anisiobi & Chinwe Monica Madueke, 2023. "Public Debt and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(3), pages 705-718, March.
    10. Pratibha Saini & Krishna Muniyoor, 2021. "Revisiting The Debt–Growth Nexus: Evidence From India," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 66(231), pages 151-172, October –.
    11. Hylton Hollander, 2024. "Debt-financed fiscal stimulus in South Africa," Studies in Economics and Econometrics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 87-112, January.
    12. Attard, Juergen, 2019. "Public Debt and Economic Growth nexus: A Dynamic Panel ARDL approach," MPRA Paper 96023, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Chinwe Ann Anisiobi & Callistus Tabansi Okeke & Okaforocha Chika Maureen, 2023. "Public Debt Sustainability in Nigeria," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(3), pages 484-494, March.
    14. Okere, Kingsley Ikechukwu & Dimnwobi, Stephen Kelechi & Ekesiobi, Chukwunonso & Onuoha, Favour Chidinma, 2023. "Turning the tide on energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: Does public debt matter?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    15. Abdul Jalil, 2020. "Debt Sustainability: Economic Growth is the Panacea," PIDE Knowledge Brief 2020:19, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    16. Charles O Manasseh & Felicia C Abada & Ebelechukwu L Okiche & Ogochukwu Okanya & Ifeoma C Nwakoby & Peter Offu & Anuli R Ogbuagu & Chiedozie O Okafor & Paul C Obidike & Nnenna G Nwonye, 2022. "External debt and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does governance matter?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-28, March.

    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. Attard, Juergen, 2019. "Public Debt and Economic Growth nexus: A Dynamic Panel ARDL approach," MPRA Paper 96023, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. De Vita, Glauco & Trachanas, Emmanouil & Luo, Yun, 2018. "Revisiting the bi-directional causality between debt and growth: Evidence from linear and nonlinear tests," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 55-74.
    3. Qaiser Munir & Sook Ching Kok & Winnie Abdulnasir, 2016. "Public debt sustainability and economic growth in Malaysia: Threshold and causality analysis," Proceedings of International Academic Conferences 5306868, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    4. Thobeka Ncanywa & Marius Mamokgaetji Masoga, 2018. "Can public debt stimulate public investment and economic growth in South Africa?," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1516483-151, January.
    5. María del Carmen Ramos-Herrera & Simón Sosvilla-Rivero, 2016. "Public debt and economic growth: An empirical evaluation," Working Papers 16-06, Asociación Española de Economía y Finanzas Internacionales.
    6. Roberto Tamborini & Matteo Tomaselli, 2020. "When does public debt impair economic growth? A literature review in search of a theory," DEM Working Papers 2020/7, Department of Economics and Management.
    7. İbrahim ÖZMEN, 2022. "New Evidence from Government Debt and Economic Growth in Core and Periphery European Union Countries : Asymmetric Panel Causality," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(3), pages 167-187, October.
    8. Kummer-Noormamode, Sabina, 2018. "The Relationship between Public Debt and Economic Growth: Nonlinearity and Country-Specificity," MPRA Paper 98075, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Pratibha Saini & Krishna Muniyoor, 2021. "Revisiting The Debt–Growth Nexus: Evidence From India," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 66(231), pages 151-172, October –.
    10. Rutayisire, J.Musoni, 2021. "Public debt dynamics and nonlinear effects on economic growth : evidence from Rwanda," MPRA Paper 110931, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Maitra, Biswajit, 2019. "Macroeconomic impact of public debt and foreign aid in Sri Lanka," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 372-394.
    12. Siddique, Abu & Selvanathan, E.A. & Selvanathan, Saroja, 2016. "The impact of external debt on growth: Evidence from highly indebted poor countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 874-894.
    13. Bitar, Nicholas & Chakrabarti, Avik & Zeaiter, Hussein, 2018. "Were Reinhart and Rogoff right?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 614-620.
    14. Jos Mauricio Gil Le n & John William Rosso Murillo & Edgar Alonso Ramirez Hern ndez, 2019. "Public Debt and Stability in Economic Growth: Evidence for Latin America," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 9(4), pages 137-147.
    15. Gómez-Puig, Marta & Sosvilla-Rivero, Simón, 2017. "Heterogeneity in the debt-growth nexus: Evidence from EMU countries," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 470-486.
    16. Ehigiamusoe, Kizito Uyi & Lean, Hooi Hooi, 2020. "The role of deficit and debt in financing growth in West Africa," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 216-234.
    17. Saungweme, Talknice & Odhiambo, Nicholas M, 2019. "Sovereign debt and economic growth in Zimbabwe: Amultivariate causal linkage," Working Papers 25680, University of South Africa, Department of Economics.
    18. Vicente Esteve & Cecilio Tamarit, 2018. "Public debt and economic growth in Spain, 1851–2013," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 12(2), pages 219-249, May.
    19. Qamar Abbas & Li Junqing & Muhammad Ramzan & Sumbal Fatima, 2021. "Role of Governance in Debt-Growth Relationship: Evidence from Panel Data Estimations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, May.
    20. Saungweme, Talknice & Odhiambo, Nicholas M., 2021. "Sovereign Debt and Economic Growth Nexus in Zimbabwe: A Dynamic Multivariate Causality Test," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 74(2), pages 173-196.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public debt; Economic growth; ARDL cointegration; Financial crisis; South Africa.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C32 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space Models
    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • H60 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - General
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

    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:83157. 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.