Determinants of technology-intensive exports: The case of African countries, 1995–2017

Agathe Fonkam

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 568-579

Abstract: An extensive literature has investigated the driving forces behind high-technology exports, but most studies focus on developed countries and developing countries outside Africa. The purpose of this paper is to assess the main factors determining export-oriented technological change, using the technological content of exports (high-tech, medium-tech and low-tech exports) as a proxy. For this purpose, instrumental variable regressions are applied to a panel dataset of 33 African countries. The findings revealed that the main determinants of high-technology exports are: imports of components, rule of law, human capital, FDI inflows, GDP per capita and manufacturing. For medium-technology exports, the determinants identified are similar to high-technology exports with population included. The main determinants of low-technology manufactured exports are imports of components, rule of law, population, FDI inflows, GDP per capita and manufacturing. These give policymakers in African countries a targeted approach in formulating policies related to exports by technological category. This paper contributes to the literature in that it assesses the main factors determining export-oriented technological change, using different levels of technological content of exports (high-tech, medium-tech and low-tech exports).

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2022.2156026

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