Does Human Capital Development Motivate Gross Domestic Product in ECOWAS Sub Region? An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

Empirical answer to the research question of whether human capital development motivates Gross Domestic Product in countries located within ECOWAS sub-region has been provided in this study after the data from fourteen countries between 1990 and 2020 have been subjected to the panel Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares and a panel Granger Causality Test. These are the major submissions that emerged from the study; human capital development positively impacted Gross Domestic Product in one hand and human capital development Granger caused Gross Domestic Product in ECOWAS countries on the other hand. Therefore, the results from both the DOLS regression and the Pairwise Granger Causality Test established that human capital development significantly motivates Gross Domestic Product in ECOWAS sub-region. In light of the above submission, this study recommends that whenever the ECOWAS sub-region wants to pursue a rise in Gross Domestic Product, the policymakers in this economic bloc should embark on human capital development-oriented policy and programs, this will in turn stimulate Gross Domestic Product.