IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/afjecr/264465.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effect of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Appiah-Konadu, Paul
  • Junior, Forster Shitsi
  • Eric, Abokyi
  • Twerefou, Daniel K.

Abstract

This paper uses time series data from 1972 to 2012 on Ghana to test the hypothesis that foreign aid can promote growth in developing countries. The ARDL approach to cointegration (bounds test) was employed to examine both the long run and short run relationships between aid and economic growth. The results of the bounds test showed that there is cointegration between foreign aid and economic growth in Ghana. This was further confirmed by the error correction term which was very significant and correctly signed. The error correction term showed that the speed of convergence to long run equilibrium is moderate. From the results, labour, capital and government expenditure have positive impact on economic growth in Ghana in both the long run and the short run whereas foreign aid and interest payment on external debt have negative impact on growth. In order to derive a positive benefit of foreign aid, we recommend the provision of economic aid which is geared towards capital formation and skills development of labour through education and training rather than political aid since the results show that capital and labour have positive impact on economic growth. We also recommend the provision of more grants and less loans as aid to Ghana because interest payment on external debt has been found in the study to have negative effect on economic growth because most foreign aid are not invested in projects with direct future cash flows.

Suggested Citation

  • Appiah-Konadu, Paul & Junior, Forster Shitsi & Eric, Abokyi & Twerefou, Daniel K., 2016. "The Effect of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Ghana," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 4(2), July.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:afjecr:264465
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.264465
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/264465/files/136060-364475-1-SM.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/264465/files/136060-364475-1-SM.pdf?subformat=pdfa
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.264465?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hansen, Henrik & Tarp, Finn, 2001. "Aid and growth regressions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 547-570, April.
    2. Griffin, Keith B & Enos, J L, 1970. "Foreign Assistance: Objectives and Consequences," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(3), pages 313-327, April.
    3. Sandrina Berthault Moreira, 2005. "Evaluating The Impact Of Foreign Aid On Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Study," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 30(2), pages 25-48, December.
    4. Kanhaya L. Gupta, 1975. "Foreign Capital Inflows, Dependency Burden, And Saving Rates In Developing Countries: A Simultaneous Equation Model," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 358-374, January.
    5. Mr. Arvind Subramanian & Raghuram Rajan, 2005. "What Undermines Aid’s Impact on Growth?," IMF Working Papers 2005/126, International Monetary Fund.
    6. David Roodman, 2007. "The Anarchy of Numbers: Aid, Development, and Cross-Country Empirics," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 21(2), pages 255-277, May.
    7. Mr. Dhaneshwar Ghura & Mr. Michael T. Hadjimichael, 1995. "Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," IMF Working Papers 1995/136, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Papanek, Gustav F, 1973. "Aid, Foreign Private Investment, Savings, and Growth in Less Developed Countries," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(1), pages 120-130, Jan.-Feb..
    9. Voivodas, Constantin S., 1973. "Exports, foreign capital inflow and economic growth," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 337-349, November.
    10. William Easterly, 2003. "Can Foreign Aid Buy Growth?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 23-48, Summer.
    11. John Mukum Mbaku, 1994. "Foreign aid and economic growth in Cameroon: a reply," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(4), pages 55-57.
    12. Rukmani Gounder, 2001. "Aid-growth nexus: empirical evidence from Fiji," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(8), pages 1009-1019.
    13. Nyoni, Timothy S., 1998. "Foreign Aid and Economic Performance in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(7), pages 1235-1240, July.
    14. Vasudeva Murthy & Victor Ukpolo & John Mbaku, 1994. "Foreign aid and economic growth in Cameroon: evidence from cointegration tests," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(10), pages 161-163.
    15. Stoneman, Colin, 1975. "Foreign capital and economic growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(1), pages 11-26, January.
    16. Gupta, Kanhaya L, 1975. "Foreign Capital Inflows, Dependency Burden, and Saving Rates in Developing Countries: A Simultaneous Equation Model," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 358-374.
    17. Kosack, Stephen & Tobin, Jennifer, 2006. "Funding Self-Sustaining Development: The Role of Aid, FDI and Government in Economic Success," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 60(1), pages 205-243, January.
    18. Fosu, Augustin Kwasi, 1990. "Export composition and the impact of exports on economic growth of developing economies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 67-71, September.
    19. Mr. Martin Mühleisen & Mr. Dhaneshwar Ghura & Mr. Roger Nord & Mr. Michael T. Hadjimichael & E. Murat Ucer, 1995. "Sub-Saharan Africa: Growth, Savings, and Investment, 1986-93," IMF Occasional Papers 1995/006, International Monetary Fund.
    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. Ali Yassin Sheikh Ali & Mohamed Saney Dalmar & Ali Abdulkadir Ali, 2018. "Effects of Foreign Debt and Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Somalia," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(11), pages 1-95, November.
    2. Simplice A. Asongu & Hillary C. Ezeaku, 2020. "Aid Grants vs. Technical Cooperation Grants: Implications for Inclusive Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1984-2018," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 20/091, African Governance and Development Institute..
    3. Arsalan, Rahmatullah, 2019. "Foreign Aid and Economic Development A study of Foreign Aid and Its Effects and Relationship with Per Capita Income of Afghanistan," MPRA Paper 96136, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Sep 2019.
    4. Sun Guoyan & Asadullah Khaskheli & Syed Ali Raza & Nida Shah, 2022. "Analyzing the association between the foreign direct investment and carbon emissions in MENA countries: a pathway to sustainable development," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4226-4243, March.
    5. Samuel Antwi & Prince Yeboah Boateng & Awudu Salley, 2021. "?he effect of foreign direct investment on economic growth in Ghana: the role of exchange rate volatility," Bulletin of Applied Economics, Risk Market Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 81-96.

    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. Innocent .U. Duru & Bartholomew .O.N. Okafor & Millicent Adanne Eze & Gabriel .O. Ebenyi, 2020. "Foreign Aid and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria," Growth, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 7(1), pages 35-50.
    2. Henrik Hansen & Finn Tarp, 2000. "Aid effectiveness disputed," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(3), pages 375-398, April.
    3. Xayavong, Vilaphonh & Gounder, Rukmani & Obben, James, 2005. "Theoretical Analysis Of Foreign Aid, Policies And State Institutions," Discussion Papers 23704, Massey University, Department of Applied and International Economics.
    4. Pahlaj Moolio & Somphyvatanak Kong, 2016. "Foreign Aid and Economic Growth: Panel Cointegration Analysis for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam," Athens Journal of Business & Economics, Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), vol. 2(4), pages 417-428, October.
    5. Lessmann, Christian & Markwardt, Gunther, 2012. "Aid, Growth and Devolution," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1723-1749.
    6. Rajarshi Mitra, 2013. "Foreign Aid and Economic Growth: A Cointegration Test for Cambodia," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 5(2), pages 117-121.
    7. Bassam Abou al Foul, 2008. "Foreign Aid and Economic Growth in Egypt and Jordan: An Empirical Analysis," Working Papers 418, Economic Research Forum, revised 06 Jan 2008.
    8. Nuruddeen USMAN & Martins.O. APINRAN, 2019. "The Impact of Aid and Macroeconomic Policy on Growth in Nigeria: A Bounds Testing Approach," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 9(5), pages 581-603, May.
    9. Angeles, Luis & Neanidis, Kyriakos C., 2009. "Aid effectiveness: the role of the local elite," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 120-134, September.
    10. Yakama Manty Jones, 2013. "Testing the Foreign Aid-led Growth Hypothesis in West Africa," Management Working Papers 3, Birkbeck Department of Management, revised Apr 2013.
    11. Lessmann, Christian & Markwardt, Gunther, 2009. "Aid, growth and decentralization," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 09/09, Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
    12. Mr. Emilio Sacerdoti & Mr. Gonzalo Salinas & Abdikarim Farah, 2009. "The Macroeconomic Impact of Scaled-Up Aid: The Case of Niger," IMF Working Papers 2009/036, International Monetary Fund.
    13. Rajarshi Mitra & Md. Sharif Hossain & Md. Iqbal Hossain, 2015. "Aid and Per-Capita Economic Growth in Asia: A Panel Cointegration Test," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(3), pages 1693-1699.
    14. Bazoumana Ouattara & Eric Strobl, 2008. "Aid, Policy and Growth: Does Aid Modality Matter?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 144(2), pages 347-365, July.
    15. Temple, Jonathan R.W., 2010. "Aid and Conditionality," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4415-4523, Elsevier.
    16. P. B. Eregha, 2013. "Aid Flows and Growth Diagnosis: Empirical Evidence for A Panel of ECOWAS Countries," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 33(4), pages 2627-2633.
    17. Michal Chervin & Sweder van Wijnbergen, 2010. "Economic Growth and the Volatility of Foreign Aid," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 10-002/2, Tinbergen Institute.
    18. Philip Michael Kargbo, 2012. "Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Sierra Leone: Empirical Analysis," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-007, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    19. Ali, Sharafat & Ahmad, Najid, 2013. "A Time Series Analysis of Foreign Aid and Income Inequality in Pakistan," MPRA Paper 48877, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali & Manal Mahagoub Elshakh & Ebaidalla Mahjoub Ebaidalla, 2018. "Does Foreign Aid Promote Economic Growth in Sudan? Evidence from ARDL Bounds Testing Analysis," Working Papers 1251, Economic Research Forum, revised 13 Nov 2018.

    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:ags:afjecr:264465. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajer/index .

    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.