Does Remittance Inflow Granger-Cause Economic Growth in South Africa? A Dynamic Multivariate Causality Test

Abstract

In this study, we examine the dynamic causal relationship between remittances and economic growth in South Africa during the period from 1970 to 2017. Although South Africa is well-known for being a source of cross-border remittances to various countries, especially in the African continent, remittance inflows to South Africa have grown in the recent past. The growth in remittances, on one hand, and the need to fight against poverty and inequality in South Africa and ultimately improve economic growth, on the other hand, prompted the need for this study. The study uses the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach within a multivariate Granger-causality setting to examine the remittance-growth causal link—in an effort to address the variable-omission bias. The empirical findings of the study show that remittances and economic growth are not causally related in South Africa, irrespective of whether the estimations are done in the long run or in the short run. This finding, though contrary to the expectation, is not surprising, given the level of financial sector development in South Africa.