Dynamics of population, urban agglomeration, and economic growths in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Evidence from panel data

Abstract

This study analyses population, urban agglomeration (UAG), and economic growths dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using the World Bank panel data ranging from 1970 to 2019. The study utilized a panel fixed effect (FE) model after verifying the suitability of the model using a Hausman test. The estimation result from the panel FE model reveals remarkable findings which conform to some extent, the theoretical a priori expectations. The result shows that growth in rural as well as urban population growth and total trade (TRD) have negative relationships with UAG. On the other hand, gross domestic product (GDP, a better proxy for income) and foreign direct investment (FDI) have a positive association with UAG in the economies of SSA thereby validating the existence of the Williamson–Kuznets hypothesis. Based on the findings, it is advised amongst other policy recommendations that the governments of the Sub-Saharan African countries should pursue inward-looking policies targeted toward encouraging the local processing of agricultural raw materials—possibly to finished products to boost foreign exchange earnings through trade in other to engender sustainability in both the economic growth and UAG in the region.