FDI AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: The Case of UEMOA

WAEMU countries, in their perpetual quest for stable and sustained growth with a view to improving the well-being of their population, are not lagging behind in the implementation of regulations aimed at attracting FDI. Net foreign direct investment flows to WAEMU countries have been increasing steadily since the early 2000s, particularly in 2002, with an acceleration of their pace in the years that followed, notwithstanding the context of the international economic and financial crisis. Relative to GDP, these flows rose from 0.88% in 2002 to 2.6% in 2017, after reaching 3.5% and 6.1% in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Econometric analysis shows that the impact of FDI on WAEMU economic growth is negative. In this regard, urgent measures are needed to strengthen economic and social infrastructure, consolidate political stability and deepen integration, in order to increase and diversify FDI flows by directing them towards the industrial sector, to make them more conducive to the economic development of the subregion.