Resource Mobilization, Financial Liberalization, and Investment: The Case of Some African Countries

The role of interest rate in the determination of investment and, hence economic growth, has been a matter of controversy over a long period of time. Yet, what constitutes an appropriate interest rate policy still remains to be a puzzling question. Until the early 1970s, the main line of argument was that because the interest rate represents the cost of capital, low interest rates will encourage the acquisition of physical capital (investment) and promotes economic growth. Thus, during that era, the policy of low real interest rate was adopted by ...