Associations Between Logistics and Economic Growth in Africa

Abstract Despite macro‐economic predictions of economic catch‐up and steady‐state economic growth for all countries, in the long run, the gap between advanced and developing African countries is widening. This study investigates the association between logistics and economic growth in 32 African countries from 2007 to 2018. The results show that five of the six logistics performance indicators, under review, have weak positive economic growth effects, ranging between 0.01 and 0.03. Relatively high economic growth effects emerge from the “competence and quality of logistics” indicator. This research highlights that the growth potential in African countries depends on improvements in logistics performance and that prioritising investments to improve logistics efficiency can improve long term growth and development in Africa. Practitioners and policymakers can use the results of this study to target and prioritise specific logistics indicators based on the magnitude of their impact on economic growth.