Title: Assessment of capital, investments and trade flows in West Africa: directions for economic efficiency

Authors: Oluwabunmi O. Adejumo; Akintoye V. Adejumo

Addresses: Institute for Entrepreneurship and Development Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun, Nigeria ' Department of Economics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun, Nigeria

Abstract: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was established to actualise the harmonisation, coordination of national policies, and the promotion of integration programmes within the union. Thus, given the 1986 policy-shifts for liberal economic system and integration, this study assesses the extent to which there has been pay-offs or otherwise using the macroeconomic indicators of trade, investment and capital flows within the union. This is with a view to ascertaining if there has been any direction for economic efficiency as well as establishing directions for future sustainability of ECOWAS as a union. Using a data set of 1980-2018, productivity growth ascertains the rate of efficiency within the sub-region; while the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) determines the direction of causality, the extent of (in) economic efficiency vis-à-vis selected macroeconomic indicators. The findings show that while productivity is still low in the region, exogenous factors stimulate efficiency more than endogenous factors. Therefore, we recommend further strengthening of the internal processes of growth through increases in domestic investment and export base diversification within the ECOWAS sub-region.

Keywords: growth; efficiency; development; integration; economic.

DOI: 10.1504/WREMSD.2022.125634

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2022 Vol.18 No.5/6, pp.602 - 621

Received: 05 Jan 2020
Accepted: 23 Nov 2020
Published online: 18 Sep 2022 *

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