Economic diversification in Africa: is political instability an obstacle?

Economic diversification remains a priority for many resource-rich developing countries, as it strengthens economic resilience. However, most of these developing countries, particularly the countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), experience periods of political instability, which jeopardise their economic diversification process. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of political instability on the diversification of CEMAC economies. The results of the Dynamic Least Squares (DOLS) estimation, on annual data covering the period 1996 to 2020, reveal that political stability has a positive effect on economic diversification. In view of this result, we have suggested that policymakers should improve the business climate and strengthen governance.