The paper analyses the impact of the simultaneous occurrence of external debt and capital fl ight on economic policy effectiveness in Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) in sub-Saharan Africa, employing the Panel-Corrected Standard Error regression model for the period 1990 to 2015. The empirical results reveal that both monetary and fi scal policies in the region had been undermined in achieving their intended purposes because of increasing capital fl ight and external debt. Also, the concurrent occurrence of capital fl ight and external debt has been a hindrance to progress on the continent, particularly by undermining domestic investment. These results call for more practical measures in addressing the issues of foreign debt and capital fl ight, given the critical importance of domestic private investment for both short-and long-run growth.

For several years, illicit financial outflows though unobservable have remained rampant in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) sub-region. This paper examines whether macroeconomic volatilities as perceived by domestic investors in the sub-region have any influence on these outflows taking some selected Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and dataset for the period 1990 to 2012 as the case study. In addition, the study employs a Generalized Autoregression Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model and Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag model in its estimation. The outcomes of the econometric investigation, which reflects the current situation in the sub-region, support the view that domestic investors will withdraw their investments and other financial holdings from the domestic economy if they perceived present and future government policies to be volatile. These results suggest that government in HIPC Countries in SSA should focus on stabilising their macroeconomic and political situation if they want to reduce the outflow of domestic capital.

The spending patterns of governments in the world especially developing economies have changed significantly over the last several decades. The main objective of this paper is analysing the relationship between government expenditures and growth in Burkina Faso’s economy. The study focuses on testing the various versions of Wagner’s hypothesis using the Burkina Faso data between 1960-2015 by an Autoregressive-Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. Cointegration tests, the long-run parameters and causality tests found valid Keynesian and Wagnerian relationship, but results are sensitive to the variable definition; the use of relative and absolute measures, local and international currency leads to a different conclusion.

For several years, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries continue to struggle with poverty, hunger, epidemics, access to proper sanitation and potable water etc. even though the continent is considered to be endowed with half of the world’s natural resources. Low value-added products continue to be the primary export of countries in the continent since it lacks the technical know-how to manage its resources for sustainable growth and development it envisages. This paper examines the effectiveness of aid for innovation in enhancing growth and innovative performance of SSA using the Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) and fixed effect models for the period 2002 to 2015. The empirical results revealed that growth and innovation in the continent could be improved significantly if aid is more advanced to innovation and research. Also, the paper noticed that aid for innovation have more impacts in countries with the lower level of innovation and technological advancement.

The countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have experienced a positive growth rate of over five per cent per year, on average, since their transition from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative in 1996 and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative in 2006. Despite this growth, poverty and inequality are still very high. Employing the Driscoll – Kraay standard panel estimation method and dataset from 1990 to 2015, this paper sets out to examine the implications of external debt and capital flight on the general welfare of the people. The estimation results reveal that both external debt and capital flight have a welfare inhibiting effect, suggesting that increases in external borrowing or capital flight may lead to a reduction in the welfare of the people in the sub-region. The study, therefore, recommends to policymakers and government in the sub-region the need to tackle the revolving nature of external borrowing and capital flight and take steps to halt all channels through which deservingly acquired capital leaves the sub-region.