Publication: International Growth Spillovers, Geography and Infrastructure
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Date
2009-12-01
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Published
2009-12-01
Author(s)
Deichmann, Uwe
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Abstract
There is significant academic evidence that growth in one country tends to have a positive impact on growth in neighboring countries. This paper contributes to this literature by assessing whether growth spillovers tend to vary significantly across world regions and by investigating the contribution of transport and communication infrastructure in promoting neighborhood effects. The study is global, but the main interest is on Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors define neighborhoods both in geographic terms and by membership in the same regional trade association. The analysis finds significant evidence for heterogeneity in growth spillovers, which are strong between OECD countries and essentially absent in Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis further finds strong interaction between infrastructure and being a landlocked country. This suggests that growth spillovers from regional "success stories" in Sub-Saharan Africa and other lagging world regions will depend on first strengthening the channels through which such spillovers can spread -- most importantly infrastructure endowments.
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“Deichmann, Uwe; Roberts, Mark. 2009. International Growth Spillovers, Geography and Infrastructure. Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5153. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4346 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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