A Regional Perspective on Aid and FDI in Southern Africa

During the last decade international aid flows diminished while Africa’s relative share of global foreign direct investment (FDI) declined. This went together with lacklustre growth and low human development levels. In 2005, the G8 countries announced that they would increase aid to Africa by some $25 billion per annum. The pledge for increasing aid seems to have triggered an extensive debate about the role of aid and other international capital flows in the development of poorer countries. This study contributes to this debate. Specifically it addresses the role of foreign direct investment and aid to growth and human development. Panel estimations are used to determine the relationships between aid, FDI and growth in the Southern Africa region from 1990 to 2005. Negative relationships are found between FDI and growth while aid and growth turned out to be unrelated.

Henri BezuidenhoutEmail: