FOREIGN RESERVE ACCUMULATION AND MACRO ECONOMIC VARIABLES OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of foreign exchange reserves accumulation on economic stability proxied by inflation, unemployment, exports and GDP for a sample of 49 Sub-Saharan African countries for the periods 2009- 2018 using panel (longitudinal) fixed model. Findings from this study reveal that foreign exchange reserves have a significant negative effect on unemployment and inflation; however, it shows a significant positive effect on export and gross domestic product (GDP. To improve the overall economy of the listed sub-Saharan countries, the paper therefore recommends sub-Saharan African countries to adopt a mixture of investment friendly and direct unemployment reduction polices by reinvesting investible surplus into inflationary controllable and productivity boosting policies that will stimulate economic prowess rather than keeping this huge amount of resources redundant.

Keywords

• Foreign Exchange Reserve
• Economic Stability
• Sub-Saharan African Countries