Capital Flows and Technology Transfer between China and Sub-Saharan African Countries

In the China-Africa trade partnership, foreign direct investment is one of the preferred capital flows of technology transfer, as it incorporates knowledge about the most appropriate technologies. The absorption capacity of African countries is also a fundamental parameter. This article provides an empirical analysis of the factors behind technology transfer between China and sub-Saharan African countries. The analysis covers a sample of nine sub-Saharan African countries, plus China, and covers the period 2003-2021. Using data from the Heritage Foundation (2021), it appears that, on average, countries in sub-Saharan Africa are lagging behind in innovation creation compared to China. The econometric results obtained using panel data analysis show that corruption, technological infrastructure and human capital explain this delay.