The impact of technological innovation in the process of structural transformation of WAEMU countries

We study the impact of technological innovation on the prospects for economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the pursuit of structural transformation in WAEMU countries by comparing the Union's companies with their counterparts in so-called "emerging countries". We use a generalized structural equation model by estimating the impact of technological innovation for a better improvement of firms' productivity after the COVID-19 pandemic while taking into account data asymmetry. The results show that economic recovery could be fostered by prudent policies on access to finance that allow firms to invest in research and development (R&D) in order to reduce dependence on foreign technology and accelerate the structural transformation of WAEMU economies. At the same time, we show that it is only in WAEMU countries that the autonomous effect of adopting technological innovation is almost as strong as that of R&D with the combined effect of external knowledge of foreign technologies.