Political Instability, Institutional Quality, and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows into West African States: An Analytical Study

This study analyses the relationship between political instability, institutional quality, and foreign direct investment inflows into West African states, with Nigeria as the anchor case study in a regional comparative framework. Attracting foreign direct investment is central to the development strategies of West African economies, yet political instability, governance deficits, and weak property rights continue to deter investment from both global and regional sources. Drawing on institutional economics theory and recent political economy literature on investment climates in Africa from 2019 to 2024, the study employs a panel data research design covering fifteen ECOWAS member states from 2010 to 2023. Data are drawn from the World Bank Governance Indicators, UNCTAD investment statistics, International Monetary Fund article IV reports, and the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance. Fixed and random effects panel regression models, with a Hausman test for model selection, are employed. The study expects to find that voice and accountability, rule of law, and political stability indices are significant positive determinants of foreign direct investment flows, while corruption control exerts a non-linear conditional effect moderated by resource endowment. It also examines how Nigeria's investment climate compares with regional peers. The findings fill an analytical gap in the literature on institutional drivers of investment in the ECOWAS sub-region and generate policy-relevant recommendations for improving Nigeria's investment governance architecture. Keywords: political instability, institutional quality, foreign direct investment, West Africa, panel data