Foreign Direct Investments and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries: A Comparative Analysis between Landlocked Countries and Countries Having Access to the Sea

Institutional reforms implemented since the beginning of the Nineties resulted in a substantial increase in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) inflow into Sub-Saharan Africa. The present study uses data on 32 countries to evaluate the impact of FDI on economic growth through panel data regressions for the period 1988-2008. The study captures the incidence of commercial openness through a comparison between the landlocked countries and those having access to the sea. The results show that FDI have a positive and significant effect on economic growth in countries that have access to the sea whereas for the landlocked countries, the results are not significant. It is therefore recommended that African countries continue to implement policies favorable to the attraction of FDI. Landlocked countries should lay a particular emphasis on the construction of infrastructures (roads, railways, airports, and phone) that facilitate the flow of goods towards the different ports for shipment to countries where their goods are more demanded