This study examines the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth in SubSaharan African countries using a Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (P-ARDL) model. We employ this method due to its flexibility in accommodating both stationary and non-stationary time series, as well as series with mixed integration orders, while also allowing for sufficient lags to capture the data's dynamics. The findings indicate that, despite varied short-term impacts, foreign direct investment, human capital, and GDP per capita have substantial longterm effects on economic growth in the region. These findings contribute to the debate on FDI’s role in tackling widespread poverty, high unemployment, and inflationary challenges facing Sub-Saharan African countries. The study recommends that policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa countries should prioritize targeted policies to attract FDI, reform human capital development, and promote job creation, infrastructure growth, and strong institutions to boost per capita income and drive sustainable economic growth.
Kutu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.