حواله ها، توسعه مالی و رشد اقتصادی در آفریقا

This study investigates the role of remittances and financial development on economic growth in a panel of 36 countries in Africa over the period 1980–2009. It uses a panel econometrics framework and the main findings of the study are as follows: (1) Remittances appear to be an important source of growth for these countries in Africa during the period under study. (2) Volatility of remittances appears to have a negative effect on the growth of countries in Africa. (3) Remittances appear to be working as a complement to financial development. (4) However, importance of financial development in boosting economic growth appears weak, at least among the countries under study.

Largely ignored in the past, workers’ remittances-transfers by international migrants to their countries of origin – have grown to become one of the largest sources of financial flows to developing countries, often overshadowing the traditional sources such as official aid and private capital flows (see World Bank, 2003, World Bank, 2004, Aggarwal et al., 2010, Giulia and Zazzaro, 2011, Giuliano and Ruiz-Arranz, 2009 and Rao and Hassan, 2011). Further evidence shows that in 2010, worldwide remittance flows are estimated to have exceeded US $440 billion of which US $325 billion were transmitted to developing countries, an amount that far exceeded the volume of official aid flows and constituted more than 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in many developing countries. It is also shown that recorded remittances in 2009 were nearly three times the amount of official aid and almost as large as foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing countries (World Bank, 2011). And in 2007 alone, over US$300 billion of workers’ remittances were transferred worldwide through official channels, and it is likely that billions more were transferred through unofficial channels (see Barajas, Chami, Fullenkamp, Gapen, & Montiel, 2009).

This study investigates the role of remittances and financial development on economic growth in a panel of 36 countries in Saharan Africa over the period 1980–2009. It is motivated by the realisation that up to very recently remittances was not considered useful and as a result was ignored by both policy makers and academics. However, in recent times there seems to be shift of focus to the role of remittances on economic growth. Available evidence shows that recorded remittances in 2009 were nearly three times the amount of official aid and almost as large as foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing countries and that in 2010 stood, worldwide remittance flows, exceeded US $440 billion of which US $325 billion were transmitted to developing countries.