Department of Economics

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Browsing by Author "Agbor, Julius Agbor"

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    The fundamental determinants of long run growth in the Cameroonian economy
    (University of the Western Cape, 2004) Agbor, Julius Agbor; McCarthy, Colin
    Nearly half a century after independence, the Cameroon economy has experienced little or no growth in per capita incomes in spite of the enormous natural and human potentials of the country and in spite of the huge packages of aid and subsequent debt relief received from the international donor community, suggesting a more profound cause to the development problems facing the country. Under the current WTO rules-based system of multi-lateral trade management, Cameroon, like other poor countries, is left with limited scope for effective implementation of industrial and trade policies that could bail her out of her present predicament. Against this backdrop, this study seeks to explore the fundamental determinants of sustainable growth within the context of the Cameroonian economy. While acknowledging the role of openness to international markets in promoting growth, its effects could only be maximised with the attainment of certain threshold conditions such as the availability of basic skills, provision of vital infrastructure services and public goods, and good governance. In a nutshell, for development to happen, the country needs not only well functioning markets, but also good governments that do not steal the fruits of workers' labour. Drawing on the endogenous growth models, the study suggests that incentives for investment in knowledge capital, for infrastructure provision and for good governance could bail the country out of its low level traps, setting it on the path of sustainable growth in an evermore globalising world economy.
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    The impact of trade openness on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in emerging market economies
    (University of the Western Cape, 2011) Mphigalale, Tshifhiwa Victor; Agbor, Julius Agbor
    This study examines the influence of trade openness on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in emerging market economies. The study focuses on a sample of 15 emerging market economies during 1992-2006. The econometric framework utilised in the study consist of panel data analysis, although the pooled OLS model is first estimated in order to give the reader a sense of what to expect in the main results. Using alternative estimation techniques, the study shows that, indeed, trade openness carries with it the potential of harnessing more FDI into emerging market economies but this need to be complemented by appropriate macroeconomic and sectoral policies. Notably, as the results of the study suggest, foreign investors generally consider the host country's market size, its labour market practices with respect to the real wage, and the current and expected rates of inflation, in order to invest in the country. The results from the study suggests that, given identical trade openness strategies, emerging market economies that have larger market sizes are likely to be more successful in attracting FDI than those with smaller market sizes. The evidence also suggests that, given identical trade openness strategies, emerging market economies that have lower real wages and lower price inflation are likely to be more successful in attracting FDI than those with high real wages and high or variable price inflation. Finally, the findings of this study do not provide strong evidence in support of the fact that infrastructural development, property rights and external debt matter in attracting FDI into emerging markets. The policy implications of this study for South Africa, which is currently contesting for FDI with the fast growing and relatively larger economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (otherwise referred to as, BRICs), is that urgent attention needs to be given to the rising prices and wages provoked by increasingly strong unions, and weak anti-trust regulations in the country, in spite of a fairly successful inflation targeting framework adopted a decade ago.