The paradox of regional integration and sustainable development: perspectives from West Africa
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Date
2023-12-18
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Abstract
Although opportunities abound for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with regional integration, West Africa has not been able to fully harness the potential gains of regional integration. This study examines the extent to which regional integration drives sustainable development in West African countries from 1980 to 2019. This study specifies a Cobb-Douglas-type production function that expresses output as a function of capital and labour, which is augmented with trade integration. Adopting the dynamic common correlation effects (DCCEs) method as the estimation technique, results show that labour and capital stock have a significant positive impact on sustainable development, while trade integration is found to have a negative impact on sustainable development. Although the result is contrary to expectations, it reflects the current reality of the state of regional trade in the region, as well as the attendant slow progress in the achievement of SDGs.