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Working Paper 365 - Public Investment Efficiency, Economic Growth and Debt Sustainability in Africa

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Investment is an important driver of economic growth with important implications for debt sustainability. Investment efficiency gaps adversely impact debt sustainability in Africa. The current heightened fiscal vulnerabilities can be attributed to external factors including volatile commodity prices particularly for commodity-exporting countries and health challenges like COVID-19 pandemic that weakened fiscal revenues and growth. In addition are domestic factors such as elevated government spending on the back of big-push investment expenditures to close infrastructure gap, increased security expenditures in response to conflict and social unrest in some countries. Using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) framework, we estimate the role of debt in the provision of productive investments, driving economic growth and subsequent debt sustainability. To entrench fiscal sustainability, countries need to strengthen domestic resource mobilization and improve public investment management for greater efficiency. Measures to increase tax revenue collections, savings mobilization and efficiency of public spending are therefore critical. It is prudent for development partners to support debt reporting, data harmonisation, tax compliance, combating illicit financial flows and developing effective debt resolution frameworks.

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  • George Kararach & Jacob Oduor & Edward Sennoga & Walter Odero & Peter Rasmussen & Lacina Balma, 2022. "Working Paper 365 - Public Investment Efficiency, Economic Growth and Debt Sustainability in Africa," Working Paper Series 2491, African Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:adb:adbwps:2491
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    1. Hillary Chijindu Ezeaku & David Okelue Ugwunta & Godwin Imo Ibe & Ebele Igwemeka & Eze Festus Eze & Obiamaka P. Egbo, 2023. "Effect of bilateral and multilateral concessional debts on public investment in Africa: A contingency analysis," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 35(2), pages 198-210, June.

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    JEL classification:

    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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