Globalisation and underdevelopment:

foreign investment activity in the Sahel

Abstract

Foreign economic activity in the Sub-Saharan region has already passed through a neo-colonial phase, in a new
context that is marked by the competition of the wealthiest national economies for the overexploitation of the
abundant natural resources of African countries, and more recently of critical raw materials and rare earths, by
multinational enterprises. The present analysis aims to identify any linkages between foreign investment activity
and the combined impact of multiple crises, and the tendency of local populations to flee abroad, especially in
the Sahel region, during the recent period (2009-2021). At a methodological level, the analysis will employ the
bias correction estimation in order to statistically confirm the determinants of local populations’ exodus from
their places of origin. The empirical results indicate that the intensity of foreign investment, although by
definition contributing to the increase in per capita investment, proves to be insufficient to prevent the outflow
of populations from Sahel countries. The otherwise causal relationships between the multiple crises occurring in the region and their repulsive effect on individuals are confirmed. The need to regulate the activities of multinational enterprises in the Sahel, often of European origin, is now imperative, and within the multipolar economic system under formation, European states are called upon to serve as a paradigm.