Demographic structure and economic growth:

This paper examines the impact of institutional quality on economic growth in West Africa after the Great Recession using a panel of 13 countries. In addition to the traditional institutional variables documented in the Worldwide Governance Indicators, such as government effectiveness, control of corruption, rule of law, regulatory quality, political stability, voice and accountability, and absence of violence/terrorism, the paper also derived an institutional-quality variable from the Freedom House database. To address the methodological shortcomings in the extant literature, the study used region-specific variables and adopted both the system generalized method of moments and the panel two-stage least squares estimation techniques under the framework of a cross-country growth model. The results predominantly showed a significant negative relationship between institutional quality and growth in West Africa. Specifically, corruption, government ineffectiveness, weak regulatory quality, political instability, lack of rule of law and absence of accountability were found to hinder growth in the sub-region. However, the empirical findings also showed an initial level of gross domestic product per capita, capital, labour and foreign direct investment as important drivers of growth in the sub-region. Therefore, the study concludes that the sub-region needs improved institutions that can attract higher levels of investment to promote sustained economic growth and development.

Considering the dominance of remittances as the main source of foreign capital, along with enhanced economic growth in West Africa, it is expected that there will be reduction in poverty which is in consonance with the United Nations first objective of sustainable development goal; however, poverty remain prevalent in West Africa. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of migrants' remittances and economic growth on poverty reduction in some selected West African countries: Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. Data for this study were obtained from secondary sources. The study covered annual data spanning the period 1990 to 2022, employing a panel autoregressive distributed lag (PARDL) co- integration test. The co-integration relationship shows poverty gap index, remittances, economic growth, inflation rate, unemployment and foreign direct investment were co- integrated. The empirical findings revealed that migrants' remittances and economic growth have significant negative effect on poverty in the long-run, consistent with a priori expectation while inflation revealed an insignificant positive effect on poverty in West Africa in the long- run. Also, unemployment and foreign direct investment were revealed to have negative effect on poverty in the long-run. However, foreign direct investment was not significant. Whereas the short-run result revealed that remittances and economic growth have significant positive effect on poverty. The PMG's speed of adjustment parameter (ECT) is rightly signed and statistically significant at 10% level, reinforcing co-integrating relationship. That is 31% disequilibrium in the short-run is corrected annually in the long-run. Revealed unidirectional causality runs from remittances, GDP per capita, and inflation to poverty, while there appears to be no causal relationship either from unemployment or foreign direct investment to poverty and vice versa. The test of hypotheses results revealed that all the alternative hypotheses were accepted and the null hypotheses rejected. Therefore, the study concluded that remittances and economic growth have decelerating-effects on the level of poverty in West Africa in the long-run. The following recommendations, among others, were made: (a) Governments need to substantially strengthen and synergize remittances and economic growth as poverty alleviating factors in West Africa (b) Remittance recipients need sensitization on the need to channel such funds into productive ventures and policy mandating them to do so be enacted and implemented (c) Economic growth in West African countries should be inclusive driven.

This study provides a pioneer analysis of the growth effect of WAEMU integration at the econometric level, unlike the extant literature that relied on descriptive analysis of the sub-region’s trade statistics. The study used robust instrumental variables system GMM regression in the framework of a cross-country growth model and annual panel data for the period 2000 to 2015. Contrary to the widely held view that regional economic integration fosters economic growth of the participating countries, we did not find any empirical support for a positive growth impact of WAEMU integration in West Africa, which may be due to a variety of factors that mainly point to the characteristics of the WAEMU economies. However, the results indicate that foreign direct investment (FDI), institutional quality, capital, labour and the initial real per capita GDP are important drivers of growth in the sub-region. Interestingly, the results further indicate that FDI and institutional quality are the channels through which WAEMU integration may impact on growth in West Africa. The study therefore concludes that policy reforms towards improved institutions and increased FDIs will enhance economic growth in West Africa.

Human Capital Development and Economic Growth in Developing Economies

This study examines the relationship among corruption, institutional quality and economic growth; and analyses the interaction effects of corruption and institutional qualities such as political stability and absence of violence (pv), government effectiveness (ge), regulatory quality (rq), control of corruption (cc), voice and accountability (va), and rule of law (rl) on economic growth (gdp) in West African Countries. Time series data covering the period between 1995 and 2017 were employed with Panel VAR method. Our results showed that corruption (cp) and economic growth are negatively related at lag one, and positively related at lag two, but the results were statistically insignificant. All institutional quality indicators, except ge are negatively related to economic growth at lag one, but at lag 2, positively related except rq, cc, and pv. These results were also statistically insignificant, except that of pv which is statistically significant.Our results also showed that interaction of control of corruption with corruption (cccp); regulatory quality with corruption (rqcp); and political stability and absence of violence with corruption (pvcp) negatively affect economic growth in West Africa both at lag one and two and were statistically insignificant. These results are expected in countries that are poorly rated both in terms of corruption and institutional quality. The study suggests reasonable policy interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of corruption as well as improving institutional quality in West Africa Countries.

In recent times, there appears to have been a resurgence in research investigating the effects of population dynamics on economic outcomes in different regions of the world. This has further been inspired by the performance of some Asian economies, where the demographic transition has been observed to play a prominent role. Most African countries are beginning to experience declining fertility and mortality rates. This is expected to enhance economic outcomes. It is against this backdrop that the present study attempts to examine the effect of population dynamics (declining fertility and mortality, growth of population and labour force) on economic growth in West Africa over the period 1970 to 2011. A panel data modelling approach was employed, using fixed effects and random effects estimation techniques. The findings revealed that the demographic transition is beginning to yield positive and significant effects on growth in the region, while some negative effect through mortality remains. Specifically, growth rates of fertility, labour force and population enhanced economic growth, while infant mortality growth lowered the level of output in West Africa. To maximize the gains from the demographic transition, the study recommends, among other things, increased investment in education and training of the younger population to enhance their productivity.

Accelerated Economic Growth in West Africa

Indonesia is predicted to experience a demographic bonus. Demographic Bonus is a country condition where the number of young people with an abundance of about 2/3 of the total population. This study aims to determine the Labor Force Participation Rate and Dependency Ratio on Economic Growth in North Sumatra, which is also experiencing a demographic bonus. The labor force is the population of working age or looking for work, so when they get a job and income, it will affect economic growth. The Dependency Ratio is the dependency ratio connecting groups that are most likely to become economically dependent groups. This study uses secondary data or time series. While the analysis used is multiple linear regression. This model tests the Labor Force Participation Rate and Dependency Ratio on economic growth in North Sumatra. This model shows that the Labor Force Participation Rate has a positive effect on economic growth in North Sumatra. The Dependency Ratio has a positive effect on Economic Growth in North Sumatra. Furthermore, simultaneously / simultaneously the Labor Force Participation Rate and Dependency Ratio have a positive and significant effect on Economic Growth in North Sumatra.

This paper examines the effect of monetary policy regimes on output growth in West Africa. This was undertaken given that countries in the region require output growth, but are pursuing different monetary policy regimes and are yet to witness adequate output growth. So this set the objective of the study. The study made use of a longitudinal research design that obtained cross-section data from the secondary sources of the Central Banks of the selected countries, the World Bank Development Indicator, the International Monetary Fund as well as the International Financial Statistics database for the period from 2000 to 2021. The data analysis method involved using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) using a Pooled Mean Group (PMG) regression was used for the estimation. The results obtained indicate that the monetary policy rate was only effective in the short run to exert a significant effect on output growth, while the money supply was significant in both the short run and long run. So, the study makes the following recommendations; money supply is an effective tool for achieving output growth and this should be effectively managed to curb inflationary trends that may arise as a result of increased money supply in order not to reverse economic growth. Monetary authorities should promote activities in all sectors of the economy, particularly in the high-growth sectors. There should be cooperation between the monetary and fiscal authorities in West Africa to ensure smooth coordination and consistency in monetary and fiscal pursuits.

This research aims to analyze the determinants of economic growth in East Nusa Tenggara Province, consisting of life expectancy, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, purchasing power, labor force participation rate, government investment, and number of tourists on economic growth, and to analyze the dominant variable influencing economic growth. The type of data used in this research is secondary data in the form of panel data with cross sections of 20 regencies/cities and time series for six years (2011-2016). The analytical tool used is panel data regression with fixed effect model. The results show that life expectancy, mean years of schooling, purchasing power, and government investment have a significant effect on economic growth. Whereas expected years of schooling, labor force participation rate, and number of tourists have no significant effect on economic growth. Life expectancy, mean years of schooling, purchasing power, labor force participation rate, government investment, and number of tourists simultaneously affect economic growth.Keywords: Economic Growth, Human Development Index, Labor Force Participation Rate, Government Investment, Number of Tourists.

This study aims to determine the effect of economic growth and population growth on labor force participation rate (LFPR) in Lhokseumawe city from 2007 to 2015. The data used in this study is secondary data obtained from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) during 2007 to 2015. Data analysis method used in this research is Multiple Linear regression analysis method with the help of EVIEWS. The results partially (t-test) show that economic growth has a positive and significant effect on labor force participation rate (LFPR) in Lhokseumawe City from 2007 to 2015 and population growth has a positive and significant effect on labor force participation rate (LFPR) in Lhokseumawe City from 2007 to 2015. Simultaneously (F test) indicates that economic growth and population growth have a positive and significant effect on labor force participation rate (LFPR) in Lhokseumawe City from 2007 to 2015. Economic growth and population growth affect labor force participation rate (LFPR) by 14.7863% and the rest 85.2137% is influenced by other variables outside of this study.

This study aims to determine the effect of regional financial performance, labor force participation rates, and inflation on economic growth in West Sumatra. The data used are secondary data in the form of time series with a period of time from 1987 to 2017, with the technique of collecting data documentation and library studies obtained from the institutions and agencies concerned. The variables used are government expenditure, investment, balance funds, labor force participation rates, inflation and economic growth. The research methods used are: (1) Ordinanry Least Square (OLS), (2) Classical Assumption Test. The results of the study show that (1) Government expenditure has a positive and significant effect on economic growth. (2) FDI investment has a negative and not significant effect on economic growth. (3) Balancing Funds have a positive and significant effect on economic growth. (4) Work Force Participation Level has a negative and significant effect on economic growth. (5) Inflation has a negative and significant effect on economic growth (6) Government Expenditures, Investment, Balancing Funds, Labor Force Participation Levels and Inflation have a significant effect on economic growth in West Sumatra.

This study investigated the relationship between human capital development and economic growth in Nigeria for the period of 1981-2017. Annual time series data from various issues of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin and World Development Indicator (WDI) were collected for the dependent variable - gross domestic product per capita (the proxy for economic growth) and the independent variables - human development index (HDI), number of under-five deaths (NUFD), gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), labour force participation (LABF), remittance (REM) and inflation rate (INF). The Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Dickey Fuller Generalized Least Squares (DF-GLS) detrending test were used to test for unit root while the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) or the bound testing approach was employed in the study. The result showed that human capital development (HDI), labour force participation (LABF) and remittance (REM) had direct and significant long run impact on economic growth while the short-run estimated model revealed that the one-lagged value of gross domestic product (RGDP) and HDI had direct and significant impact on the dependent variable. The error correction term showed that in event of a disequilibrium, shock or perturbation, the system would restore itself to equilibrium at an adjustment speed of approximately 97.1%. To increase Nigeria’s human development index (HDI), it was recommended that remittances from international agencies should not only used judiciously by the government for the development of human capital. This would not only increase creativity, skill and productive capacities but also promote economic growth in Nigeria.

The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of the Islamic Human Development Index (I-HDI), Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), and Open Unemployment Rate (OUR) on poverty in Kebumen Regency during the period 2014-2024, with economic growth as a mediating variable. A quantitative approach was applied in this research. The analytical methods employed are path analysis and the Sobel test, utilising secondary data from official publications of the Central Statistics Agency, specifically those of the Kebumen District and the Central Java Province. The results show that the I-HDI has a significant positive impact on economic growth, while the LFPR has no significant impact; however, the OUR indicates a significant negative impact on economic growth. Furthermore, I-HDI was proven to have a positive and significant effect on poverty. In contrast, LFPR, OUR, and economic growth showed a significant adverse effect on poverty. In terms of indirect effects, economic growth was found to be effective in mediating the impact of I-HDI on poverty, but not in mediating the effects of LFPR and OUR on poverty.

This article studies the efficacy of the public investment in human capital and physical capital to raise income in Bangladesh over the period 1980–2016. This article also assesses whether the investment in human capital and income have raised life expectancy of the country. The Johansen cointegration test identifies a long-run relation of income with investment on education, health care and physical capital. The error correction mechanism (ECM) based on the cointegrating relation followed by the Wald test of Granger causality has found that these investments have caused income to rise with some lag periods. Robustness of these findings is confirmed by involving an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model of cointegration followed by its ECM representation. On the other hand, the Johansen and ARDL methods of cointegration followed by their ECMs have also found a long-run relation of life expectancy with the investment in education, health care and income. A decisive role of the investment in health care and income on life expectancy is observed, while an unusual negative role of the investment in education is also found. However, positive value of the long-run coefficients of the education and health-care investments of the ECM-ARDL model indicate some long-run favourable impact of these investments on life expectancy in Bangladesh. JEL: I26, I15, C32