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Spillovers from agglomerations and inward FDI: a multilevel analysis on sub-Saharan African firms

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  • Marco Sanfilippo
  • Adnan Seric

Abstract

This paper adopts multilevel analysis to study the agglomeration-performance nexus for domestic firms in sub-Saharan Africa. We show that contextual factors can explain up to 30 % of the variance in firms’ productivity, more than half of which depends on the geographic location. Our results show also that African firms’ productivity is positively correlated to the size of the agglomeration when they locate in larger cities specialized in different sectors, while the relation turns negative when they face direct competition from firms in the same industry. These effects are similar in the services and the manufacturing industries, even if in the latter positive spillovers are found to be conditional to the presence of backward and forward linkages with nearby firms. Finally, we are able to show that these effects are also confirmed when domestic firms locate close to foreign multinationals, especially those coming from the South. Copyright Kiel Institute 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Sanfilippo & Adnan Seric, 2016. "Spillovers from agglomerations and inward FDI: a multilevel analysis on sub-Saharan African firms," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(1), pages 147-176, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:weltar:v:152:y:2016:i:1:p:147-176
    DOI: 10.1007/s10290-015-0237-6
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    2. Bernard Hoekman & Marco Sanfilippo, 2020. "Foreign participation in public procurement and firm performance: evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(1), pages 41-73, February.
    3. Lin, Boqiang & Sai, Rockson, 2022. "Has mining agglomeration affected energy productivity in Africa?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PA).
    4. Abegaz, Melaku & Nene, Gibson, 2022. "Export agglomeration economies in Sub-Saharan Africa manufacturing and service sectors," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 40-51.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agglomeration economies; Firms’ heterogeneity; Sub-Saharan Africa; FDI spillovers; D22; F23; O14;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology

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