Investigating the asymmetric effects of financial development on trade performance in Africa: Can digitalization, transport services, and regulatory quality drive the vision 2063?

Abstract

One of the key goals of the United Nations Sustainable Goals focuses on nations pursuing sustainable growth (SDG-2) and notable strands of studies have emphasized the fundamental roles financial development plays in its attainment. However, there is limited understanding regarding how financial development influences trade performance and competitive advantage. Consequently, this study aims to provide the first empirical evidence of the asymmetric effects of financial development on trade performance in Africa from 1996 to 2022. Additionally, the empirical model that controls for market size, transport services, and digitalization is evaluated through various methodologies, including Mean Group (MG), Pooled Mean Group (PMG), Dynamic Fixed Effects (DFE), and Quantile Regression (QR). The results indicate that while negative shocks adversely affect trade performance, positive shocks stemming from financial development enhance it. Moreover, trade performance is positively influenced by digitalization, market size, and trade openness, whereas it is negatively affected by transportation services. These findings carry important implications for policy-making.