Infrastructure Development and Economic Growth in Nigeria and Ghana: Evidence From a Multidimensional Panel Analysis, 1990–2024

Infrastructure development is widely recognized as an important foundation for productive capacity, investment, technological advancement and economic growth. However, infrastructure is multidimensional, and its different components may influence economic performance through different channels. This study examines the effect of economic, social, digital and institutional infrastructure on economic growth in Nigeria and Ghana over the period 1990–2024. The study employs annual panel data covering 70 country-year observations and estimates a fixed-effects panel model after preliminary panel diagnostics and stationarity testing. Economic growth is measured using the growth rate of real output, while economic, social and digital infrastructure are represented by the respective infrastructure indices and institutional infrastructure by an institutional quality index. The results indicate that economic, social, digital and institutional infrastructure all have positive coefficients in the fixed-effects model. However, economic and social infrastructure are statistically insignificant at the 5 percent level, while digital infrastructure is positive and marginally significant at the 10 percent level. Institutional infrastructure has a positive and statistically significant effect on economic growth. The overall model is statistically significant and explains approximately 33.97 percent of the variation in economic growth. The Dumitrescu–Hurlin causality results further indicate bidirectional causality between social infrastructure and economic growth and between institutional infrastructure and economic growth, while economic growth unidirectionally predicts economic infrastructure. No significant causality is observed between digital infrastructure and economic growth. The findings suggest that infrastructure policy should move beyond isolated physical investment and incorporate institutional quality, human capital, digital connectivity and complementary infrastructure.