Export-Led Growth Hypothesis: Evidence from Agricultural Exports in Tanzania

Abstract

This study examines the nature and direction of causality in Tanzania between economic growth and agricultural exports along with some selected variables such as labour force and domestic investment. The analysis for this study was carried out using time series data for the period of 1980 to 2013. The data series were tested for stationarity using Phillips-perron test and the results revealed that they were all stationary and integrated of order one I(1). The Johansen test of cointegration revealed that there are cointegrating vectors in the system. The Granger causality test results revealed no any support of the export-led growth (ELG) hypothesis for Tanzania. However, the growth-led exports (GLE) hypothesis for Tanzania was supported by the results of this study, implying that the government of Tanzania needs to promote growth in order to generate exports.

Keywords: Agricultural exports, Economic growth, cointegration, causality and Tanzania.Dodoma