GDP per capita IN SUB-SAHARAN Africa: A time series approach using long memory

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines GDP per capita in sub-Saharan Africa, studying its properties through fractional integration. This approach enables us to study issues such as trends, mean-reversion, nonstationarity and breaks in a more flexible way than standard methods. We find negative relationships between level of income and persistence, implying that countries with higher levels of GPD display lower degrees of integration, and thus effects of shocks disappearing faster than those in poorer countries. The paper examines the comparative institutional characteristics underpinning the time series growth properties of the selected African countries also contributing to the literature on institutions and growth.