Demographic dividend and economic growth in the ECOWAS zone

This book studies the effects of the demographic dividend on economic growth in the ECOWAS region over the period 1990-2020. Using an ARDL model on panel data estimated by the Mean Group (MG) technique the main results show that the demographic dividend has a negative effect in the short term and a positive effect on growth in the ECOWAS zone in the long term. This paper concludes that the demographic dividend and access to education are the driving determinants of economic growth in the ECOWAS zone. Our findings suggest that the governments of ECOWAS member countries need to take practical steps to better orient their skilled labor training policies. They should also propose a course of action that involves relying on local traditional leaders to provide civic education particularly in the area of procreation. Given the ethnic and cultural diversity of most of the countries in the zone this type of program needs to be developed from the ground up in order to change cultural norms relating to fertility.