Abstract
Identifying growth factors is important to effectively estimate economic development. However, the African region has failed to identify factors influencing economic growth that are unique to the country. Hence, this empirical study delves into evaluating the factors influencing economic development in 19 selected African countries for the period 1970-2017. Data on the selected African countries contributing to the global economy was gathered from a variety of sources, but primarily through the World Bank Development Indicators (WDI). The selected countries and their availability of data encompasses the following low-income countries in Africa based on their level of GDP per capita: Burundi, Somalia, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Congo Republic, Niger, Chad, Ethiopia, and Mali. In addition, I used the data from the following high-income African countries: Algeria, Botswana, Gabon, Mauritius, Namibia, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. The instruments of Fully Modified OLS and Panel Dynamic OLS were employed to analyze data to analyze in this study. The analysis established that external debt, aid, and trade for prolonged periods significantly, influenced the growth of low-income countries in Africa. However, remittances and foreign FDI had no discernible impact on economic development rates. For high-income African countries, FDI, external debt, remittances, and trade revealed slightly positive long-term growth. The findings suggest that the influx of aid to low-income African countries may have a positive impact on developmental advancements over time. Overall, external debt, aid, and trade had negligible effects on economic growth in low-income countries. It is recommended that Collaboration, liberalisation, and strategic incentives are essential for attaining sustained economic success in most African countries.