Evaluation of the Non-Linear Effects of the Public Debt on the Economic Growth of the WAEMU

The aim of this article is to analyse the nature of the relationship between public debt and economic growth in the WAEMU. A standard growth model was specified and then estimated in quadratic form from the GMM (GMM). The results show a non-linear relationship between public debt and economic growth. Thus, public debt stimulates economic growth when it does not exceed the threshold of 15% of GDP. Robustness tests show that public debt is boosting the economic conditions of countries with sound macroeconomic policies and good institutional quality.