This paper employs a spatial dependency framework to examine intermediary roles played by trade, institutional quality and natural resource endowment in determining direct and indirect (spillover) effects of inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth. We develop a number of spatial mechanisms to assess how these intermediary factors limit and/or enhance the effect of FDI on economic growth. In particular, we test whether different levels of resource rents, severity of civil conflict and openness to international trade are statistically different in attenuating direct and indirect (spillover) effects of inbound FDI on growth. Last, we conduct a test of asymmetry to investigate whether the effect of FDI on growth is statistically different from zero in three democratic (autocratic) regimes, that is, low democratic (high autocratic), moderate democratic–autocratic and high democratic (low autocratic) societies. A number of insightful contributions to the economic growth-FDI literature can be extracted from our analyses. First, results indicate that inbound FDIs on their own have positive and significant effect on economic growth. However, the positive FDI effect on growth is significantly dampened by the negative intermediary role of civil conflict. Second, we find that, the more opened sub-Saharan African economies are to international trade, the greater is the impact of FDI on growth. However, trade among African countries as a share of their economies plays insignificant intermediation role on direct and indirect effects of FDI on growth. Third, we find that an increase in resource rents as a share of the economy significantly reduces direct and spillover effects of inbound FDI on economic growth. Last, our analysis indicates that both low democratic (high autocratic) and high democratic (low autocratic) regimes do accelerate the positive impact of FDI on growth. However, results indicate a slow-down effect of FDI on growth under moderate democratic–autocratic regimes. This particular finding suggests that the intermediary role of democracy in determining the effect of FDI on economic growth is non-linear. A number of policy implications can be extrapolated from our analysis. Most importantly, trade policies, which boost integration of sub-Saharan African countries and open up the continent to the rest of the world, are likely to play major intermediation roles in accelerating the positive effect of FDI on growth.

中文翻译：

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善待你的邻居：撒哈拉以南非洲外国直接投资和经济增长的空间分析

本文采用空间依赖框架来检验贸易、制度质量和自然资源禀赋在确定入境外国直接投资 (FDI) 对经济增长的直接和间接（溢出）效应方面所起的中介作用。我们开发了许多空间机制来评估这些中介因素如何限制和/或增强 FDI 对经济增长的影响。特别是，我们检验了不同水平的资源租金、国内冲突的严重程度和对国际贸易的开放程度在减弱流入 FDI 对增长的直接和间接（溢出）影响方面是否存在统计学差异。最后，我们进行了不对称性检验，以调查 FDI 对增长的影响在三个民主（专制）政权（即低民主（高专制）、温和的民主专制和高度民主（低专制）的社会。从我们的分析中可以提取出对经济增长——FDI 文献的许多有见地的贡献。首先，结果表明，外商直接投资本身对经济增长具有积极而显着的影响。然而，FDI 对增长的积极影响被国内冲突的消极中介作用显着削弱。其次，我们发现，撒哈拉以南非洲经济体对国际贸易开放程度越高，FDI对增长的影响越大。然而，非洲国家之间的贸易作为其经济的一部分在外国直接投资对增长的直接和间接影响方面起着微不足道的中介作用。第三，我们发现，资源租金在经济中所占份额的增加显着降低了流入外国直接投资对经济增长的直接和溢出效应。最后，我们的分析表明，低民主（高度专制）和高度民主（低专制）政体确实加速了 FDI 对增长的积极影响。然而，结果表明，在温和的民主专制政权下，外国直接投资对增长的减缓效应。这一特殊发现表明，民主在确定 FDI 对经济增长的影响方面的中介作用是非线性的。从我们的分析中可以推断出许多政策含义。最重要的是，促进撒哈拉以南非洲国家一体化和向世界其他地区开放非洲大陆的贸易政策，