Does foreign direct investment influence poverty in Zimbabwe? A multivariate approach

Abstract

This study examined the causal relationship between poverty and foreign direct investment inflows in Zimbabwe using data from 1990 to 2020. The study was motivated by the need to determine which factor influence the other between FDI and poverty. This would contribute to identifying possible solution to the challenge of low foreign direct investment and high poverty levels in Zimbabwe, despite the government open-door policy for foreign investors. The human development index and household consumption expenditure were used as poverty proxies. Using the autoregressive distributed lag to cointegration test and ECM-based causality test, the study found a unidirectional causal flow from poverty to foreign direct investment in both the short and long run, regardless of the poverty proxy used. The study confirms the importance of preconditions to foreign direct investment inflows. It is recommended that policy makers in Zimbabwe complement the open-door policy for foreign investors with policies that address preconditions such as poverty, infrastructure, education and health, to stimulate high levels of foreign direct investment.