Title: The economic effects of infrastructure investment on industrial sector growth in Sub-Sahara Africa: a disaggregated system-GMM approach

Authors: Sunday Anderu Keji; Josue Mbonigaba; Gbenga Wilfred Akinola

Addresses: Department of Economics, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, College of Law and Management Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban, South Africa ' Department of Economics, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, College of Law and Management Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban, South Africa ' Department of Economics, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, College of Law and Management Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, Durban, South Africa

Abstract: Investment in economically inclined infrastructure is pertinent to industrial sector growth in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), especially during this period of financial belt-tightening recovery due to the recent global pandemic. Findings suggest a dilapidated infrastructure spread across SSA, which has mired productivity growth, hence slow industrial sector growth. This study fills a vacuum in the literature by investigating the economic effects of infrastructure investment on industrial sector growth in SSA using disaggregated system-GMM approach. Diverse significant effects from various types of infrastructural tech on industrial growth across sub-regional countries were unravelled. Similarly, post estimations analysis via robust Arellano-Bond Autocorrelation and Hansen tests were adopted to establish the absence autocorrelation. The study uniquely disaggregated system GMM to provide valuable insights to policymakers. Hence, sub-regional countries should draft more policy support to prioritise economically motivated factor inputs such as information techs, access to energy, transport and water resources to expedite industrial sector growth.

Keywords: industrial sector growth; infrastructural investment; system generalised methods of moments; GMM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2025.143948

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2025 Vol.21 No.1, pp.24 - 43

Received: 22 Feb 2023
Accepted: 16 Jun 2023
Published online: 15 Jan 2025 *