Road injuries, labor productivity, and economic growth in Africa: A panel study

Background and Aims: Globally, millions of people suffer from road injuries, with Africa having the highest burden of road injury deaths. This public health problem has the potential to reduce labor productivity and hence hamper economic growth, especially on the African continent. This study, to the best of the authors' knowledge, therefore seeks to provide the first empirical evidence of the interaction or combined effect of road injuries and labor productivity on economic growth in African countries. Methods: The study uses annual data on 45 African countries over the period, 2002 to 2019. The dynamic panel system generalized method of moments regression is used as the estimation technique. Results: The findings show that the interaction of road injuries with labor productivity has a negative significant effect on economic growth in both the short-run (coefficient: -1.96, p < 0.01) and long-run (coefficient: -1.93, p <0.01) periods. Conclusion: There is a need to increase investment in road safety to reduce the prevalence of road injuries on the African continent.