Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows: Evidence from the Economic Community of West African States

Abstract

In literature, the role of institutions in stimulating FDI inflows has been documented. This study examined the contributions of two institutional-quality variables, regulatory quality and the rule of law, in attracting FDI in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The study used an annual series covering the period from 2000 to 2020 using three different estimation techniques: the panel ARDL, the panel FMOLS, and the panel DOLS. Findings reveal that while the rule of law had a negative and significant impact on FDI inflows under the panel ARDL and FMOLS, the impact of regulatory quality was negative and significant under the panel ARDL and DOLS. The short-run ARDL results revealed that only the population growth rate positively and significantly impacted FDI inflows. However, in the long run, findings showed that while the population growth rate had a positive and significant impact on FDI inflows under the ARDL, the impact of GDP was positive and significant in all the models. The exchange rate was also found to negatively and significantly impact FDI inflows in all the models. The study consequently recommends building strong institutions through collaboration among the member countries while improving human capital and economic growth.