Agriculture and Rural Infrastructure as Drivers of Sustainable Development in Algeria (2000–2023)

Abstract

This study analyzes the joint role of agricultural activity and rural infrastructure in promoting economic growth in Algeria during the period 2000–2023, in the context of the country’s heavy dependence on hydrocarbon revenues, limited diversification, and persistent regional disparities. Using annual data from the World Bank, the research applies the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to examine both short- and long-run relationships between real GDP growth, agricultural value added, agricultural value-added growth, rural electrification, and the rural population share. Stationarity of the time series was tested through the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) tests, while long-run cointegration was verified using the Bounds Test. The findings reveal a strong long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables, with an Fstatistic value of 135.36 exceeding all critical bounds, confirming the existence of cointegration. The error correction coefficient (ECT = –0.303, p < 0.01) indicates that about 30% of short-run disequilibrium is corrected annually. Agricultural value added exerts a positive but fluctuating longterm effect on growth, rural electrification shows an initially negative yet delayed positive impact due to infrastructure adaptation costs, and the rural population share demonstrates a nonlinear influence that alternates between supportive and restrictive effects depending on structural conditions. Overall, the study concludes that agriculture and rural infrastructure constitute essential pillars for sustainable economic growth in Algeria. Strengthening rural investment, enhancing technical support for farmers, and expanding agricultural financing are key policy measures to transform rural regions into dynamic engines of inclusive and resilient development