African Economies - The Engine of International Development

African Economies - The Engine of International Development | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article African Economies - The Engine of International Development Idowu Oduola This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9394369/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract African economies occupy a pivotal but contested role in the contemporary landscape of global development. Recent decades have witnessed moderate growth, rising foreign investment, demographic dividends, and policy initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). However, structural constraints including governance gaps, debt burdens, limited infrastructure, and variable institutional quality temper progress. This paper synthesizes theoretical and empirical literature on African economic growth, testing key determinants across 48 countries from 1995 to 2023 using panel data econometrics. We employ dynamic panel estimation (Generalized Method of Moments, System-GMM) and error-correction modelling to assess how trade openness, foreign direct investment (FDI), financial inclusion, public debt, and governance indicators influence GDP growth. Empirical results indicate that governance quality and infrastructure investment are stronger predictors of sustained growth than FDI alone with specific econometric data, figures, and tables grounded in current literature and empirical sources. Case studies of Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda illustrate heterogeneity in development trajectories. The findings underscore the dual importance of domestic policy reforms and international partnerships for Africa’s role in global development. Imperatively, Africa’s integration into the global economy presents both development challenges and investment opportunities. This study examines Africa’s evolving position in the global economy, focusing on development challenges and investment opportunities using panel econometric techniques. Africa Economic Growth Development Policy Reforms International Investment GDP Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9394369","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":621693068,"identity":"554baabd-5a84-4c0d-9a79-397d5a9e7693","order_by":0,"name":"Idowu Oduola","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA10lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNoYEEMXMwMDOwPgAyOLhI14LMwOzAUgLG2F7EFrYJCCGEAB87MnHpHkqrBP7mZmfVX7NsZNhY2B++OgGPofxPEuT5jmTnjizmc3stuy2ZKDD2IyNc/Bpkcgxu83bdjhxw2EGs9uS25iBWnjYpInUwv6tWHJbPUlaeMwYP247TIQWnmfpP+ecSTee2cxTLM247TgPGzMBv8i3Jx82eFNhLdvP3r7x489t1fb87M0PH+PTggKYecAkscpBgPEHKapHwSgYBaNgxAAAoUw/rC+ln8UAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9951-7576","institution":"University of Lagos","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Idowu","middleName":"","lastName":"Oduola","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-12 13:07:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9394369/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9394369/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106897257,"identity":"7bacc48c-3f1f-4410-b685-64fc5c4fc8c7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-14 14:28:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":220994,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AfricanEconomiesTheEngineofInternationalDevt1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9394369/v1_covered_94cf4e3b-7041-4d0e-b65e-d281150ceb90.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eAfrican Economies - The Engine of International Development\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Lagos","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Africa, Economic, Growth, Development, Policy, Reforms, International, Investment, GDP","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9394369/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9394369/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAfrican economies occupy a pivotal but contested role in the contemporary landscape of global development. 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