Do Innovation Systems Deliver Decent Work? Joint Evidence on SDG 8 and SDG 9 in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study investigates whether national innovation systems support both productive capacity and employment quality in Sub-Saharan Africa, using the Sustainable Development Goals as an integrated analytical lens. The analysis focuses on SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and draws on a balanced panel of 43 Sub-Saharan African countries covering the period 2005–2023. Innovation systems are proxied by research and development expenditure, public spending on education, labour force participation, institutional quality, and related macroeconomic controls. The empirical approach combines descriptive analysis, fixed-effects estimation, interaction models, and dynamic panel methods using the system Generalized Method of Moments to address persistence and endogeneity. The results show strong persistence in both productive capacity and employment outcomes, indicating that current SDG performance is heavily shaped by past conditions. Innovation system inputs are positively associated with SDG 9 outcomes in static models, but their effects weaken substantially once dynamics are introduced. For SDG 8, innovation inputs display limited explanatory power, suggesting that improvements in productive capacity do not automatically translate into better employment quality. Institutional quality emerges as a key conditioning factor. In countries with stronger institutions, innovation inputs are more closely linked to productive capacity and lower employment vulnerability, while weaker institutional settings limit these gains. Overall, the findings suggest that innovation systems are necessary but insufficient for inclusive development without complementary institutional capacity. JEL Classification Codes: O30, O43, O47, J21, J46, O55