Abstract

Economic misery remained a chronic and persistent malaise in Africa, reflecting the most palpable social and economic costs endured by the people in the guise of soaring cost of living, eroded purchasing power, inability to find a job, adverse conditions to earn, and inadequate remuneration for the work done. This article examined the effect of economic misery on economic growth in a panel of 40 African countries between 1991 and 2023. It used panel regression models, namely the fixed effect model and the random effect model, to assess the impact of economic misery on economic growth. The findings of the study indicated that economic misery had a statistically significant and negative effect on economic growth in Africa. It was suggested that widespread economic misery prevailing across African countries should be curtailed through holistic policy interventions in order to accelerate economic growth.

Keywords: Africa, economic growth, economic misery, inflation, unemployment.
JEL Codes: C23, E24, E31, O40.

Description

Indian Journal of Economics and Development
Volume 21 No. 2, June 2025, 000-000

https://doi.org/10.35716/IJED-24112

Impact Factor: 0.3 (Web of Science)
NAAS Score: 6.30 (2025)
Indexed in Scopus (SJR = 0.13)
Resurchify Impact Score: 0.23
UGC Approved (UGC Care List Group II)
Index Copernicus (ICV 2023: 105.09)