Examining the Impact of Foreign Direct Investment in the SADC Region

This study examines the impact that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has had on economic growth in economies within the Southern African Development Committee (SADC) in the 21st century. Based on the Solow model, the study hypothesizes that, by acting as a conduit for the transfer of technology from technologically advanced countries to developing countries, FDI has accelerated economic growth in the SADC region. Using panel data from the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that covered from 2000-2012, results of the study show that FDI has not had significant influence on economic growth in the SADC region. The study attributes these results to poor human capital stock, which emanates from SADC member states’ poor performance in the education sector